


Across the Galaxy

by Scholastica



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), POV Alternating, Secrets, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 00:32:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 85,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7955113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scholastica/pseuds/Scholastica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Our lives are defined by the choices we make, but sometimes those choices are not always what they seem.  Kylo Ren made a choice, and now, one young woman must try to figure out just who he really is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place directly after the events of The Force Awakens.

**Kylo**

_“We miss you,” Han Solo whispered._

_Kylo stared. Words escaped him. As much as he had mentally prepared himself for this meeting, he suddenly felt rather unsettled, and he didn’t like that. It frightened him. And he absolutely hated that it frightened him._

_The Master of the Knights of Ren had no room in his life for such feelings…such weaknesses. He was strong, controlled – a pillar of fortitude. Nothing like the foolish man before him._

_And yet…_

_Something tugged at him when he looked into the old man’s face. Memories of a different time, a different place…a different person – someone he no longer knew. Someone he thought he destroyed._

_Suddenly, pain ripped through his body. An interruption. Too late, he realized, he had let his guard drop too much._

_A voice, dark and commanding, filtered its way into his thoughts, audible only to him. A voice he had known for many years now – perhaps knew better than the one belonging to the person before him._

**“Remember who you are,”** _it whispered._ **“What you can be…”**

_Kylo inhaled deeply. Yes, he remembered. He couldn’t forget it. Would never forget it. It was his legacy. His birthright._

_He looked once again at Han Solo, at the person he called “father” in what felt like a different life. Had it been a different life?_

_“I’m being torn apart,” he finally responded, truthfully. “I want to be free of this pain.”_

_Was that possible?_

**“Yes,”** _the voice instantly responded, as if sensing his question._ **“Anything and everything is within your reach. Just choose…”**

_Choose. Make a choice. Light or Dark. One or the other. Who are you? What are you?_

_Kylo regarded Han Solo with a pensive stare. “I know what I have to do,” he said, “but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?”_

_Without hesitation, Han said, “Yes, anything.” And he meant it; Kylo could sense it._

_Dropping his helmet to the ground with a resounding thud, he unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and held it out before him. Han reached out and clasped a hand around the weapon._

_And there they stood. Eye to eye. Man to man. Father to son._

_Moments passed._

_Then more._

_Finally, a voice inside Kylo’s head whispered,_ **“Choose!”**

_And he did._

_With a simple flick of his wrist, he activated his light saber, and drove the beam straight through Han Solo’s chest._

_Somewhere in the distance, a woman screamed._

* * *

 

Kylo Ren snapped his eyes open and sat up in bed with a jolt, his gaze darting from one shadowy corner of his sleeping quarters to the next. Looking. Searching. Anticipating…expecting something – somebody. But…

There was no one.

Nothing.

It was a dream. Just a dream.

But no, it wasn’t that at all.

It was a nightmare. 

And just like in the nightmare, he felt a wave of emotion sweep over him that unnerved him. Frustrated, he slammed a fist down onto his mattress.

Weak. He was so pathetically weak.

Taking a long shuddering breath, he threw his legs over the side of his bed and rose unsteadily to his feet. Still slightly disoriented from his dream as well as the dark, he lumbered slowly to the refresher. When he passed the glowing numbers on his chronometer, he didn’t even bother to check the time. He didn’t need to; he already knew it was still the middle of sleeping hours. Not that he would probably be going back to sleep anytime soon.

It had been that way since Starkiller barely a week ago. Bacta treatments had healed his body of all his physical injuries, but they were unable to cure those unseen deep inside him. He doubted anything could ever do that.

And so, he suffered.

With clenched fists, he realized that was nothing new.

Entering the refresher, an automatic light clicked on instantly, surprising and momentarily blinding him. When his eyes adjusted, he found himself looking straight in a mirror at his own reflected appearance - that of a pale young man with dark, wild eyes and…

A scar.

Something the bacta treatments couldn’t completely erase.

Kylo reached a finger up and traced the new addition to his face. It stretched from his forehead, across his cheek, and down to his shoulder. One thin, long white line that served as a reminder.

Of his failure. Of his humanity.

Suddenly, words seeped their way into his thoughts,

 _“You’re a monster!”_ a young woman’s voice screamed in hatred – the same young woman who had given him that scar.

Kylo gripped the edge of the nearby sink as a rush of unwanted feelings once again overwhelmed him. He was not a monster, he told himself. He wasn’t…

Still, she had called him one. Right after she witnessed him kill his own father. 

And just like that, his dream came crashing back to him. 

Feeling his anger rise, he just barely resisted the urge to shatter the mirror into a million pieces. The last thing he wanted was to take another trip to the medical bay, this time with his hand full of shards of glass. He could almost hear Hux’s derision at his foolishness…

But it wasn’t Hux he wanted to think about anyway. Another glance in the mirror was all the reminder he needed.

The girl.

Kylo bit back a snarl welling up in his throat. 

Who was this girl to call him a monster? She knew nothing about him.

Nothing.

And yet…

There was something. 

Splashing his face with some cold water, he departed the refresher and headed back out into his sleeping quarters, images of the girl bombarding his thoughts. Better her than that dream. He ran his hands anxiously through his hair as he thought back to that moment in the interrogation room on Starkiller, retracing ground he had already been over more times than he could remember. 

There had been this…feeling.

Suddenly, he started to pace. He had had about enough of feelings. 

Still. 

He had felt something with her. Something to do with the Force. Something…powerful. Something he almost thought he could still feel. But what? 

Almost involuntarily, his hands began to curl into fists.

Who was this young woman? And where was she? For the hundredth time since the destruction of Starkiller, he mentally kicked himself for losing her. Twice.

Totally unacceptable.

He stretched his hand out, then, and his newly repaired light saber flew across the room to his waiting palm.

Not the next time, though, he thought, activating the blade. Because he was sure, without a shadow of a doubt, there would be a next time. And he would be ready.

* * *

 

**Rey**

_“Take off that mask,” Han Solo said, his voice commanding. “You don’t need it.”_

_Rey stared in wonder at Han a couple of stories below. What was her new friend doing?! Why was he striking up a conversation with…_ **him?** _Had he lost his mind? A confrontation with that…person…was the last thing they needed at the moment._

_She suddenly felt very scared, yet curious at the same time. Something about this situation…it felt…important._

_Why?_

_“What do you think you’ll see if I do?” the synthesized voice of Kylo Ren replied._

_There was a brief pause, and Rey listened in disbelief as Han said very matter-of-factly, “The face of my son.”_

_His son?! Han’s son?! That…being…was his son?! No. No. It couldn’t be. But even as she thought this, she knew it was true. Han wouldn’t lie and…and…worst of all, it made sense._

_Rey suddenly felt herself back in that interrogation chamber again as words like “father” and “disappointed” whispered through her thoughts…in his, Ren’s, real voice._

_Yes, it was true. But how?_

_Her thoughts were suddenly riveted to Kylo Ren as, for the second time that day, he removed his mask. And, even though she knew what lie behind the disguise, she was still surprised to see the face of a young man emerge._

_A young man that –_

_No, she shook her head. She had no time for distracting thoughts. Least about him._

_Still, as Han engaged him in conversation, she couldn’t help but listen. And when the old smuggler said, “Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he’ll crush you. You know it’s true.” Something in that line caused her to pause and wonder._

_What exactly did this Snoke person want?_

_Rey continued listening to the two men with apprehension. She was startled when he – the younger man, Han’s son, admitted he felt himself “being torn apart.”_

_By what? Whom? Snoke?_

_She found herself jarred from her musings, however, when Kylo Ren’s helmet fell to the bridge all of a sudden with a ringing crash._

_Now what was he doing?_

_Then, she saw the unmistakable hilt of a lightsaber suddenly make an appearance in Ren’s hands, and watched speechless as Han wrapped his own digits around the weapon._

_What was going on?_

_Moments passed._

_Rey looked back once at the open sky behind her and was frightened to see it was dark. Not good. With her heart in her throat and every nerve in her body on edge, she turned back to the pair on the bridge._

_And watched._

_A second or two later, she saw a red beam emerge from Han’s back. Unable to contain it, a scream tore from her lips._

* * *

 

Rey blinked her eyes open, surprised to find they were wet with tears, and rolled over onto her back. In her head, she could still hear the piercing echo of a scream and see the fiery red glare of a crackling light saber. 

As well as…

Han.

She thought of the older man and a lump formed in her throat. She hadn’t been able to see his face when he died, as his back was to her, but she could easily imagine the pain and shock that must have been there just before he fell into the abyss of Starkiller. Along with his confusion.

Confusion in his misplaced trust and hope in…in…

A monster.

Suddenly, more tears began to pour from her eyes and she reached up a shaky hand to brush them away.

Because it was misplaced, right? No child – no decent person, for that matter, would kill his own father…a good man…in cold blood.

Han must have been wrong about him.

But then she remembered something, like a punch to the gut.

There had been this moment…just after the blade had pierced him through, sealing his fate, that he had lifted his hand to the creature’s face and – 

No! The young woman let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She didn’t even want to try and guess – presume – just what Han’s final thoughts had been, because…because…

Because it hurt too much.

Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, she moved to a sitting position, her head spinning, whether from the sudden motion or her dream still fresh in her mind she wasn’t sure. But one thing she did know, though, was that she didn’t want to think about _him._

Rising to her feet, she began to fumble around in the dark for a jacket. She needed air. She needed to see the sky. She needed to escape the pressing darkness of the small cell she had been given by an old Jedi Master, rather begrudgingly, to sleep in.

And here was another point of conflict for her.

Luke Skywalker.

The Jedi Master was not happy with her sudden arrival on Ahch-To the previous day. Not at all.

And why should he be? Rey mused pulling on her jacket. She had kind of just swooped into his sanctuary uninvited. Not to mention, she showed up with the worst kind of news possible.

But she would persevere. She always had. And she didn’t get the sense his discontent was directed at her. Not really.

He was just sad.

But then again, who wasn’t?

Without glancing back, Rey opened her cell’s door and stepped out into the cool night air. It felt good. Wonderful. Taking a deep breath of the watery planet’s rich oxygen, she filled her lungs to capacity.

Then, tilting her head back, she stared up at the sky, marveling at the awe-inspiring view of this side of the galaxy.

She suddenly felt encouraged, renewed. Prepared to take on whatever the Force brought her way. She was ready for anything.


	2. Chapter 2

**Kylo**

Kylo stared at the glowing red lightsaber before him, his assuredness from just moments ago fading away. Usually, when he held the weapon, he felt a certain sense of invincibility and power, but, as he examined the crackling beam for a moment, contemplating his recent history with it, he realized he felt neither happy nor sad. He felt nothing. Just numb…and vulnerable.

Deactivating the weapon, he tossed it aside where it rolled to a stop against a chair, and turned his attention to his room’s wall to wall window that his position afforded him to have on a First Order Star Destroyer. For several heartbeats, he stood mesmerized. Endless space and stars and planets stretched out forever before him. The beauty of it all captivated him, as so few things in his life did, and it was one of the few pleasures he actually permitted himself to enjoy.

As much as he shunned thoughts that dwelled on his childhood, he remembered back to being a small boy and how, even then, he was transfixed by the endlessness of space. He used to stand outside on his family’s balcony for what seemed like hours staring up at the wonders of the night. The stars were his friends and he liked to imagine how someday he would go to visit them.

As if feeling a pull to do so, he closed his eyes then, imagining the view from his old balcony. He could almost feel a light breeze whispering around him as the sounds of nighttime life filled his ears while he gazed skyward. The coolness of the evening, the scent of the salty sea air, the rush of waves crashing down below…

The images and senses felt so real it was almost like he was really there.

And suddenly he was.

But he wasn’t.

There was no ocean near his childhood home. Not even close. This didn’t make sense.

And then he felt another presence with him. Gentle and quiet, but fierce. And alone. Something he had felt before.

The girl. Again. How?

He felt himself grow still with hesitation and doubt. Could it really be her? 

Then, yes, he was positive it was. He recognized her presence, felt it, just like he had on Starkiller…and just as he thought he had been feeling it, somehow, ever since then.

Suddenly, words he himself had spoken whispered in his thoughts,

_“Don’t be afraid, I feel it too.”_

What exactly did he…they…feel? Was it something unique to Force users? Better yet, could he possibly somehow use this knowledge to his own personal advantage? Immediately, ideas began to formulate in his brain…ideas that were very dangerous…

He stopped this train of thought abruptly. He needed to concentrate. He didn’t know how long this connection, or whatever exactly it was, would last, at least in its current intensity, and he had to make good use of the opportunity. The Supreme Leader had taught him well when it came to priorities. 

At least until recently… 

Drawing on the Force, he focused his attention on the girl, something he found easy to do, and explored this sudden link across the galaxy more deeply; as he did so, he felt his mind brush once again with hers. 

Once more, he smelled briny ocean water. Not from his memory, but from wherever she was…from her thoughts and feelings. It was also a little chilly out on this place she was at, but he realized it felt good to her. Different. As did the rough, rocky terrain beneath her feet. And the stars…

They brought memories to her. Images flashed in rapid succession before Kylo, but he could barely hold onto a single one before it slipped away and another filled its void, only to be replaced by another, and another, and another…

A desert. A star-filled sky. A droid. A traitorous stormtrooper. Happiness. Sadness. Worry.

All of a sudden, he heard a gasp. Was it her?

No, it was him.

He had felt her in his own head just then. When had that happened? When he was lost in his own musings? What had she seen?!

And like that, they were suddenly both aware of the other’s presence.

A moment passed. Then another.

Then, abruptly, mental walls were flung up on both sides of the connection, and the last thought of hers Kylo was able to glean before she shut him out was one of revulsion…and…something else.

Pity?

Kylo flexed his hands as he opened his eyes once again to his view of the galaxy. What did he care what she thought of him? He didn’t…

Still, his thoughts drifted to hers.

Stars…

He knew everything he needed to now. 

* * *

 

**Rey**

Unable to rip her eyes away, Rey gazed wistfully at the night sky above. Even when she felt a crick begin to form in her neck, she still kept her focus trained on the twinkling space overhead. It was soothing, peaceful…it was home…or something similar. The constellations over Ahch-To may have been different than anything she was familiar with, but they were still part of the same big “somewhere” that she knew.

All of a sudden, her thoughts flickered to Jakku so far far away and its own celestial offerings. She couldn’t count how many times of a night she would lie out somewhere on the desert planet, if the conditions were decent, and lose herself in the captivating view of the star-filled sky. It was a welcome pastime, and it was something she knew she could always count on to be there waiting for her to come back to, unchanged, like an old friend.

Friends…

The young woman shifted slightly, her feet pressing into the stony solidness of the ground beneath her. It was such a different feeling than the desert sands she grew up with. If it wasn’t for BB-8 and Finn…

Finn.

How was he? Was he pulling through as the doctors anticipated that he would? Rey suddenly felt a twinge of regret at having left him so shortly after their arrival on D’Qar. 

But there was nothing that she could do for him. Except worry. And General Organa – Leia – had assured her that the best thing for her to do was to go to Luke. That Finn would be okay – that he had the best doctors in the Resistance taking care of him.

Still, even with such assurances, Rey felt anxious, and if she dared to admit it, a little lonely.

She knew she shouldn’t, that she had people out there now who cared about her welfare – Leia, Chewbacca, Finn, even if he was in a comatose state at the moment, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling of being alone.

Why?

Perhaps her life on Jakku was to blame for that.

Sighing, she allowed her gaze to drift the expanse of the sky once more. Searching.

For what, though? Her parents? A ship with people on it who were never coming back?

No.

_A feeling…_

The thought was only a whisper in her mind, but it hit the young woman with the all the strength of the Force, and she didn’t know whether to be alarmed or intrigued. 

Looking to the sky once again for answers, she suddenly noticed something was different. The stars…they weren’t right. They weren’t the same as they were a moment ago.

What was going on?

Suddenly, something made a noise behind her. She whipped around and was shocked to see a strange scene before her: A little boy, about nine or ten, gazing up at the star strewn sky that clearly did not belong to Ahch-To.

Where did this boy come from?

Something didn’t feel right…or did it? Was this a dream? It didn’t feel like one, but it didn’t seem…real…either. At least, not in the present sense.

Hesitantly, Rey approached the child, and, immediately, she felt a sense of deep loneliness emanating from him.

As if called from nowhere, yet somewhere, words drifted into her thoughts,

_“You’re so lonely…”_

Where did that come from? Why did she think that? Who was this boy?

She scrutinized him more closely. He was a gangly, thin little thing with pale skin and silky black hair. And his eyes, focused skyward, were dark pools of emotion. 

He liked the stars, though. 

What?! How in the galaxy did she know that?!

She looked more intently at the child and…

She paused.

The oddest feeling suddenly came over her, new yet familiar.

Then…

Her heart started pounding like mad.

…

Him.

_Him._

She felt him. The monster from her dream. From her reality. 

Kylo Ren.

And, with sudden clarity, she realized he felt her presence too. Possibly, saw her thoughts. Wait…her thoughts?! His thoughts. Had she just seen his thoughts?!

No.

Yes.

His thoughts. The feeling of them. Starkiller. It all came rushing back to her again.

That little boy…

The man in the mask…

A heartbeat passed. And another.

Suddenly, pulling on power from the Force knew where, just like on Starkiller, she blocked him at the same moment she felt him performing the same action wherever in the wide wide galaxy he was.

When it was over and she knew for sure he was incapable…she hoped…of seeing anything more inside her head, she sunk to her knees on the hard, rocky ground. Looking up, she was relieved to see the stars once again belonged to Ahch-To. 

Shaky, the young woman took several deep breaths to calm herself, unfortunately, though, it did nothing to quell the many questions now bombarding her thoughts.

Why had she seen that? How was such a thing even possible? She understood something had happened on Starkiller between them, something Force related, but they were in close proximity to each other then, and that was days ago. How did that happen just now? Why?

She reached out to the Force for answers, but nothing came to her, nothing except for a strange tingling sensation up her spine and a firm belief that things were about to change. Soon. But the question was: How soon?

And would she be ready?

Rey looked at her hands, hands she knew to be capable of a great many things. Yes, of course she would be ready, remembering her certainty just a short while ago, before the…interference.

She needed to talk to Master Luke, though. It was time to tell him a little bit more about recent events, things she had been hesitant to at first.

As she rose to her feet once again, confident with herself and her plan, she couldn’t help it, though, as her thoughts flashed for a second time to another sky, another place…another person. In that moment, she felt like she knew nothing, but, at the same time, she knew something. Was that good or bad?

Only time would tell.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kylo**

The Master of the Knights of Ren paced the length of his sleeping quarters, deep in thought. It was time for action, but he had to lay his plans carefully. His golden opportunity had come and he didn’t want to waste it.

The girl was on Ahch-To. He was positive she was. In fact, he thought he _felt_ it. Thanks to their Force connection, he had been able to recognize her location based on the constellations he saw in the sky.

Suddenly, the young man paused, thinking about the girl and just how he had found her…

Gazing at the stars… 

Unexpectedly, the thought made his heart skip a beat. 

Running a hand through already very tousled hair, he resumed his pacing. 

Focus, he told himself. Control. Be in control. He knew what could happen if he didn’t watch himself and let his emotions get the better of him. His dream tonight was a great reminder of that. Automatically, a shiver ran up his spine thinking about the nightmare. He was actually surprised that with as emotional as he had been since waking up, he hadn’t had any mental intrusions.

Perhaps it was all this business to do with the girl…

If so, he was fine with that. He could work with it.

The more he thought about it, though, he realized he hadn’t had any such “instructions” since that moment on the bridge at Starkiller. That was…strange. But he didn’t have time to dwell on that little detail at the moment. Maybe later, when there was less work to be accomplished.

He just hoped it meant nothing bad…

This line of thinking drew his attention to his chronometer. In just a few short hours, he was due to rendezvous with the Supreme Leader. This was a meeting he would not be making, however. He knew the reception of this news when received would not go over well, but all his plans were about to be laid bare, anyway, so what did it matter…

He ignored the feeling of panic welling up inside him, and instead, turned his gaze to the view out his window once again. It was time he gave his Knights a call.

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey hesitated outside the door to Luke Skywalker’s sleeping cell. Dawn was still awhile off, and she didn’t know how the old Jedi would feel about her abruptly rousing him during his rest. They had only just met, after all, and it was a bit of a rocky start at that.

Still, what she had to tell him was important. Maybe even vitally so.

The kind but sad face of Leia suddenly swam before her. Master Luke’s sister. She had entrusted Rey with the task of finding her brother and possibly bringing him home. And not only that, and more importantly, she believed in Rey – believed that she could accomplish this mission, and this meant a lot to the young woman. More than anyone knew.

It almost seemed impossible that this loving woman was the mother of a vicious murderer.

_“He wasn’t always this way…”_

A snippet of a conversation Rey had had with the General shortly after meeting her suddenly surfaced in her thoughts.

_“He was such a happy little boy,”_ Leia had recalled, a genuine smile on her face – a mother’s smile. _“Always getting himself into all sorts of mischief. Just like his father…”_ Then her demeanor had changed, and a frown creased her brow. _“But that was before…”_

Rey let the older woman’s words resonate in her head for a few moments, the sad intensity of them touching her. All her years on Jakku, alone, she had always wanted a mother – one just like Leia. Kind, caring…hopeful…believing in a cause even when it seemed lost…

The young woman took a deep breath and raised her hand to the door before her. Whatever happened, she was doing it for Leia.

Maybe a minute or two later, the bleary-eyed face of Luke Skywalker appeared. With a surge of relief, Rey noticed he did not seem angry at having been disturbed, but he was apprehensive. Perhaps, he knew why she was there, or, if not that, had some kind of idea.

Because of the Force, she was sure.

“You have something you want to tell me, don’t you?” he said; it was more a statement than a question.

Rey nodded her head. “Yes.”

Master Luke pondered her for a moment, then moved back a step and motioned for her to enter his dwelling. She did so and was immediately directed to one of two chairs in the small space. The young woman looked around; the room was not too dissimilar from the one she was occupying. A bit homier, maybe. The small fire burning in the hearth, which had clearly been recently stoked, probably added to that effect. She also saw some curious looking artifacts that piqued her interest, but she did not ask about them.

Instead, she turned her attention to the Jedi Master who had taken the chair across from her, his face an unreadable mask as he poured the contents of a small pitcher into two cups, one of which he offered to her.

“It’s my nephew, isn’t it?” he suddenly stated matter-of-factly.

Rey just barely managed not to choke on her drink at that statement. How did he know that?

“How did you…” she began.

“It was just a guess,” he replied, quickly but confidently. “But I had been wondering about him – his role in all this – ever since you arrived. I had felt there was something more…”

Without thinking about it, Rey blurted, “He’s a monster!” Then immediately regretted saying the words as she watched the old Jedi’s face suddenly grow weary and his shoulders hunched inward, almost as if defeated. Suddenly, she thought of Han. And Leia. And even herself. As well as a strange nagging feeling deep inside she couldn’t shake.

“I – I’m sorry,” she quickly said. “I didn’t mean to –”

Luke held up a hand. “It’s fine, Rey.” He sighed, then added, “I know just as well as anyone that my nephew’s actions have been anything but honorable.”

Rey didn’t know what to say to that, so she said nothing. It was true, anyway.

Luke regarded his drink for a moment, then turned his piercing blue gaze on her once again. “Please, tell me what it is about Ben you haven’t yet shared with me.”

Ben. Rey mulled the name over in her head. It was so simple. So ordinary. Like the name of any regular young man. The very normalcy of it unnerved her.

Why?

_Because it made him human._

Rey inwardly cringed at this sudden reminder about the man named “Kylo Ren.” That he was a human…with a family. A family she had met and liked.

Feeling Master Luke’s penetrating stare upon her, she pushed aside her musings for the moment and focused on what she had been asked.

“I can see his thoughts,” she said bluntly, then added, “Sometimes, at least.” She had meant to go into a long explanation about Starkiller, the interrogation room, the fight in the forest, but she decided the best course of action to take with the Jedi Master before her was to be short, sweet, and straight to the point.

Luke sat back in his chair, stunned. Clearly that was not what he had been expecting to hear. Then, after a moment or two of absorbing the information, he quickly shifted from surprise to curious interest.

“How long has this been happening?” he finally asked.

Without missing a beat, Rey replied, “Since he held me captive at Starkiller.”

Luke didn’t say anything right away, clearly thinking, probably even drawing his own conclusions about what could have happened from what she had just told him in addition to what she initially shared with him upon her arrival. Eventually, he said, “Do you know if…is this…occurrence…is it a joint phenomenon? I mean to say, is he able to see your thoughts as well?”

“Yes.”

Luke rose from his chair, then, and began to walk about the small room.

“Why did you not share this with me sooner?” he asked. He didn’t sound angry, just perplexed.

The young woman felt her face redden. “I – I didn’t think it would be important,” she responded, her voice a mumble. “I had forgotten about it until tonight when…when…it happened again.”

Really, she had never forgotten about the strange mind connection she had shared with Kylo Ren. She had just brushed it aside in an attempt to not think about him. Tonight, though, had just made it all very real for her all over again.

Luke swung to face her. “Tonight?” He stepped closer. “What did you see?”

Rey bit her lip, hesitant. Not because she was afraid to tell him what she had seen inside Ren’s head, but more because, well, it just felt kind of private.

The young woman shook her head. Private? Like a man like Kylo Ren deserved privacy? Even if he was Han and Leia’s son…

Still, when she answered, she simply said, “I think it was a memory…from when he was little.”

Luke paused and began to rub his temples. Rey wondered if he was thinking about his wayward nephew from when he was young. When he looked at her again, he asked her no more about what she saw, and instead questioned her about what Ren might have seen in her thoughts.

Rey merely shrugged. “I don’t think anything important. I was mainly thinking about Finn and Jakku…”

Luke nodded, but when he took his seat once again across from her, his face was serious. “Listen, Rey, I don’t know exactly what is going on here…between you and Ben…I have an idea, but…” He drifted off suddenly, apparently considering his words. When he spoke again, all he said was, “Be careful. Use the Force to block him if you can.”

Rey nodded her head. “That’s what I did do…tonight.”

“Good,” Luke said, looking over at the glowing hearth.

Several heartbeats passed. 

Rey wondered if she should leave him then so he could think over everything they had discussed some more, even though she felt like she had barely said anything, but as soon as she stood up to do so, the Jedi Master looked at her once more, and said, “There are so many things about my nephew, Rey. Things you need to know. Things I will tell you soon…”

Rey stood there a moment, waiting for him to say more, and when he didn’t, she departed, wondering just what more about Kylo Ren she would learn.

* * *

**Kylo**

With his mask in place, Kylo slung a bag with a few handpicked items over his shoulder and departed his room. Entering the hallway, he found it, mercifully, to be empty. Which was good. The less people he encountered, the better. Not that his presence roaming the ship during typical sleeping hours would be amiss – he was a well-known insomniac since before the events at Starkiller. He had been, for a long time.

At least since childhood…

The young man clenched his fists and began walking at a rapid speed. He didn’t want to think about his early years – didn’t want to think about the failures he was forced to suffer through, his own and others’. 

So he didn’t, and instead, let his thoughts drift to the girl yet again that night.

She suffered from sleeping issues as well. He knew this for a fact. He had seen it.

_“At night, desperate to sleep…,”_ Words he had spoken to her buzzed in his thoughts…acknowledgement of information he had successfully obtained from her. _“You imagine an ocean. I see it – I see the island…”_

An ocean. The island...

Kylo suddenly slowed his stride, thinking.

Was this place he saw…was it Ahch-To? The very recent memory of standing…or feeling her standing…on a rocky landmass with the sound of crashing waves nearby whirled around in his mind.

Had she been having _visions_ about Ahch-To before she saw it?

At this realization, he came to a complete stop. 

Some Stormtroopers who happened to be passing nearby, presumably making rounds, shot him what he was sure were curious stares underneath their helmets. Rather intelligently, though, they did not say anything. Not wanting to risk even the smallest chance of his activities being reported, however, Kylo waved his hand at them, and a moment later, they turned their heels in the opposite direction than they were headed and started back down the hall from where they came, their new point of destination being the nearest refresher.

Once they were gone, Kylo’s thoughts instantly returned to the girl. Unable to stop it, an image of her in a snow covered forest wielding his grandfather’s lightsaber – his lightsaber – leapt to the forefront of his mind.

She was powerful. More powerful than she knew.

He needed to find her.

Soon.

As such, he made it to the hangar in record time. 

His sudden appearance surprised the personnel on duty there, but after a few barking orders from him, as well as some help from the Force, they scurried like mice to clear his ship for take-off. Which was not even anywhere near fast enough for their impatient superior. If he could have simply walked onto his waiting craft and flown the coop, so to speak, without all the unnecessary protocol he would have.

He wasn’t so much worried about having the girl suddenly slip away again, it was more the fact that with every passing minute he was one moment closer to having Hux awake and aware of his departure. So much so, in fact, that a cold sweat had broken out all over his body. 

It wasn’t that he was afraid of Hux – such an idea was actually laughable – he was more nervous about what he was capable of…

Capable enough of ruining Kylo’s plans, for one.

Thus, when he was finally given the “All Clear” to depart, he was never so glad to be blasting out into open space as he was in that single moment. It was a feeling of pure, freeing exhilaration.

Or something close to it.

But definitely something he hadn’t felt in awhile.

After quickly running a scan for any tracking systems linked to his ship, and blocking them, he programmed in the coordinates for Ahch-To. With his destination set, and a smirk on his lips as he imagined the look on Hux’s face when he was discovered absent without leave, he jumped to lightspeed at the first opportunity.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hux**

Armitage Hux blinked his eyes once, then twice; a light on his holoprojector was flashing. Someone was trying to call him. 

Glancing at the glowing numbers of his chronometer, his fingers curled around his blankets in irritation. What idiot subordinate was trying to call him during the middle of sleeping hours? Whoever the fool officer was had better have one phenomenal explanation. 

Like every single member of the despicable Resistance had suddenly dropped dead.

Smoothing his hair quickly with a comb, and making sure he was only viewable from the neck up, the young General jabbed a finger at the blinking apparatus. Instantly, the image of a recently appointed Lieutenant appeared.

Figured it would be the new guy…

Hux leered at the man, but managed to keep his tone controlled as he said, “Well?”

The Lieutenant cleared his throat and made a saluting gesture at his superior.

“Er, greetings, General,” the man said, his voice anxious. “I have some news I believe you would want to be informed of.”

Hux raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

The Lieutenant’s face flushed, but he stammered on, saying, “The news concerns Kylo Ren.”

Hux ignored the urge to lean his head back and stare at the ceiling in exasperation. Of course. It would figure. If it wasn’t something to do with the Resistance, then it would only figure that it would have to concern the emotional wreck that was the Master of the Knights of Ren. The constant thorn in his side.

“What about him?” Hux demanded, his voice sounding more threatening than he intended.

The Lieutenant blanched at his tone, but kept himself together enough to say, “Sir, Master Ren’s shuttle was observed departing from the hangar one quarter of an hour ago.”

What?! Hux felt his eyes bulge in their sockets.

They were due to meet with the Supreme Leader in a matter of hours. That arrogant snob knew this. 

Breathing deeply through his nose, the General asked through clenched teeth, “Who authorized his departure?”

The Lieutenant looked confused. “No one, sir. Master Ren…sir, he’s never needed approval.”

Hux sucked in his lower lip. What the officer said was true. Ren had always had his run of the ship, coming and going as he pleased. If it had been up to him, however, that annoying privilege would have been stopped ages ago. 

Still, after the Supreme Leader’s orders for Ren to be brought to him, it would seem only logical that he would not be allowed to leave the Star Destroyer mere hours before their scheduled meeting time.

Or that Ren would knowingly choose to leave himself.

Hux tapped his finger against his leg. What was the infamous Master of the Knights of Ren up to?

“Any information regarding where he may be headed?” Hux asked.

“No, sir,” the Lieutenant shook his head. “All tracking systems associated with Master Ren’s shuttle have seemingly been disabled or blocked.”

The General felt his knee jerk involuntarily at this news, but he remained poised, thinking. Back-up plan – he always had a back-up plan.

Ren, the haughty wretch, was smart, but he, Armitage Hux, was smarter. Infinitely so.

He sat for a few moments in silence, contemplating, leaving the Lieutenant to stare at him expectantly.

Suddenly, an idea came to him and he felt a smile curl its way onto his lips.

“Lieutenant, prepare a team of pilots to fly as soon as I give the order,” he instructed.

“Sir?” the Lieutenant looked at him questioningly.

Hux didn’t reply but clicked the holoprojector off. 

He had work to do.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo stared at the small blue planet below him. She was there. He had been right – both in his knowledge of the stars he had seen, as well as that _feeling_ …

The young man flexed his hand. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about what was happening with him and the Force…and her. But he was definitely going to take advantage of the situations that seemed to be presenting themselves to him. 

As he had been...or trying to. Ever since he first heard about…

_“…a girl.”_

Suddenly, a clear image of her appeared before him. Not a vision through the Force, more a memory. His thoughts – his view of her. Her, as she was when he first saw her in the woods on Takodana.

She had been afraid of him then.

And now…

The area on his face that had been sliced open by a lightsaber began to tingle. He took a deep breath.

Concentrate.

He looked to his left and right. Flanking his shuttle were two other ships, onboard of which were his six Knights of Ren who, he was pleased to note, had immediately responded to his summons, no questions asked. As he knew they would.

When he gave the command, they would follow him down to the planet.

He stared at the control panel before him. And now, that moment had come.

* * *

 

**Rey**

Seated as comfortably as she could be on one of the large rocks that covered Luke Skywalker’s island – she didn’t know what else to call the landmass – Rey watched Chewbacca tinkering about on the Millenium Falcon down below. Noticing her, the Wookie gave her a friendly wave, but kept at his work. R2-D2 was nowhere in sight.

The young woman thought back to their arrival on Ahch-To. Both Chewie and the droid had been ecstatic to see Luke. The Wookie had wrapped his arms around his old friend in a big bear hug, and Artoo had beeped several noises that she took for the machine’s form of excitement and joy.

And it had warmed her heart to see them happy.

But she still couldn’t say she felt the same.

She didn’t know what she felt.

Her conversation with the old Jedi during the night had not gone at all how she had planned. It didn’t really go anywhere. It answered nothing. If anything, it only raised more questions.

Particularly in regard to Kylo Ren.

Rey stared past the Falcon to the crashing blue waters beyond. What more about that man did she need to know?

He was a villainous murderer. He killed his own father as well as scores of other innocent people, probably. And he was involved with the First Order, which was a criminal organization as far as she was concerned.

She did not want to think about him. To even consider him.

And yet, she did.

She thought of the lonely little boy staring up at the stars, and she shivered.

Why, though? Why was she affected so?

That little boy was nothing like the damaged, pitiful man he had become…

And right there, she stopped herself. She had just thought of Kylo Ren as “damaged.” What did that even mean, though? He had certainly damaged himself – cut ties with his family, murdered people, seriously injured Finn...

But Master Luke had said…

She sighed, tired. And not just from lack of sleep. She felt like her brain was working in overdrive, as it had been since she left Jakku, and part of that was just from her being stuck inside her own head constantly. Overthinking everything.

Especially Kylo Ren.

The young woman closed her eyes for a few moments, then slid down off the rock. She was going to go talk to Master Luke again.

She needed some answers. Immediately. Before her brain crashed altogether.

Carefully picking her way along the rocky path, she was almost to the Jedi Master’s dwelling when a funny feeling suddenly came over her, causing her to pause midstep.

Then, as if it was the natural thing to do, she turned her gaze to the sky, searching.

For what…?

Then she knew.

_She knew._

It was…

_Him._

As if he had been summoned by her thoughts about him alone.

Rey watched in fascinated horror as a sleek, black shuttle – _his_ shuttle – descended from the sky. Followed by two more ships she had never seen before.

How? 

* * *

 

**Kylo**

As they slowly began their descent to the planet’s surface, Kylo, trusting in the Force to lead his group where they needed to go since they had no exact way of knowing the girl’s location otherwise, couldn’t help the small feeling of excitement that began to course through his body.

So close.

So very close. He could feel it.

Feel her.

And then he didn’t just feel her presence, he saw her. Saw her running to the center of the small island she was on. Then, stopping. And staring. At his ship – a ship she knew he was undoubtedly on.

Suddenly, Kylo felt his heart start to beat in a rapid frenzy.

Control, he reminded himself. Patience.

Then, he noticed something else.

The girl was not alone.

_Skywalker._

Involuntarily, his hands curled into fists. Of course. How had he not recognized the old Jedi’s presence sooner?

_Because he wasn’t looking for it…_

Turning his gaze away from Skywalker, he saw one more figure dashing across the island.

Chewbacca.

Unexpectedly, a wave of emotion swept over him as he saw the Wookie. Chewbacca had been there…on Starkiller. Kylo had heard him – heard him roar when Han Solo had died. Why was he…

His thoughts were interrupted as one of his Knights radioed him.

“Master,” the Knight’s voice rang out in the cockpit. “Master, instructions on how we are to proceed, sir?”

Kylo stared down at the incoming ground.

“You and the other Knights subdue Skywalker and the Wookie,” he commanded. His eyes drifted to the female figure that was becoming clearer and clearer to see. “Leave the girl to me.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Rey**

“That’s Ben’s ship isn’t it?” Luke asked, coming up beside Rey, startling her.

The young woman gave a short nod of her head, unable to find her voice for the moment; Kylo Ren seemed to have that effect on her sometimes. Looking just past the Jedi, she was relieved to see Chewie had also joined them, bowcaster in tow. Without thinking about it, Rey’s hand drifted to the lightsaber clipped securely at her side, a weight she still didn’t feel comfortable with, despite a week or so of carrying it around. It wasn’t her lightsaber, at least it didn’t feel like it was, even if Luke had refused ownership of it and instead asked her to hold onto it for the time being. She thought longingly of her staff lying uselessly in her sleeping cell, but shook the thought away. It wouldn’t be much good against blasters and other harmful weapons.

Like crackling red beams of death…

Unconsciously, she shuddered at the memory of Ren’s lightsaber – a flickering, unstable power source, terrible and frightening to behold. Yet disturbingly captivating.

Like the man who wielded it.

Rey clenched her teeth together.

No.

If he still had it – if he had repaired it somehow – she would destroy it. Again. Permanently. And as for the man…

The young woman watched on bated breath as his shuttle suddenly landed a stone’s throw away, expertly done, almost gracefully. _Probably a stormtrooper’s work_ , she imagined. A stormtrooper like Finn – someone caught up in a life he or she did not choose, but forced to acquiesce to the commands of others. Something Kylo Ren most likely could not relate to.

_He probably always got what he wanted,_ she thought, ignoring the image of a sad-eyed child that threatened to disrupt her focus.

Several heartbeats passed.

Then…

The shuttle’s doors were opening.

There was a long stretch of silence, and…

Him.

Kylo Ren.

“Ben,” Luke’s voice, barely a whisper, broke into her thoughts; Rey had forgotten he was even there. Actually, she had forgotten about most everything the moment her eyes laid rest on the tall imposing figure draped from head to toe in black that slowly, yet purposefully, descended from the newly landed ship.

It was like she couldn’t look away.

And what was even more unnerving was the strange realization that she knew he was looking at her. Like she _knew_ he was. Even without being able to see his eyes hidden behind his mask.

_Dark pools of emotion…_

The young woman suddenly trembled.

Off to her side, she heard Luke say, “I see he’s brought his Knights with him.”

She ripped her eyes away from Ren and gaped at Luke. “Knights?” she asked, confused.

Luke indicated the other two ships from which more cloaked and masked figures descended from. “The Knights of Ren.”

Rey spared a glance at the Knights, but her gaze was quickly drawn back to the man who she knew was their leader; he was advancing toward her small group now with frightening speed. When he was about ten feet away, he suddenly stopped and waited for his companions to gather around him.

He was in charge and he wanted everyone to know it.

Luke seemed unimpressed, however.

“Hello, Ben,” the Jedi Master greeted his nephew as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Silence.

No one spoke a word.

Rey felt her heart hammering in her chest, and she wrapped her fingers more tightly around the lightsaber at her side.

Then…

“Go,” Kylo Ren’s synthesized voice commanded.

And that was it.

With blasters drawn, the Knights of Ren immediately began firing at Rey’s small group, prompting the young woman to quickly draw her saber and activate it, ready to deflect any incoming shots.

It took her only a few seconds, however, to realize the Knights weren’t aiming at her; their targets seemed to be Luke and Chewbacca only. Confused, she looked around and saw Kylo Ren staring at her. His lightsaber was drawn, but he made no effort to assist his men in their attacks.

He had eyes only for Rey.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo contemplated the girl standing before him. She was just as slight and delicate looking as he remembered. Her arms, though muscled, were thin, and her waist tiny. And while she was slightly taller than most women, her frame was rather small and willowy.

But appearances could be deceiving.

Because underneath that fragile exterior, as he knew firsthand, was a fighter. A fierce and powerful Force user.

And he wanted her.

He needed her.

Confidently, he took a step toward her.

For a moment, she did nothing but stare at him, then, her gaze darting between his lightsaber and his masked face, she narrowed her eyes and tightened her lips into a thin line as her body shifted into a defensive stance, her – his – lightsaber at the ready in her hand.

She was prepared to fight him.

Casually, Kylo swung his saber in some slow, controlled circles well away from her, not in any hurry – or really wanting to – engage the girl in a duel. He hadn’t travelled halfway across the galaxy to come to blows with her. 

Instead, he reached out to her with the Force.

And he felt their connection – their link – whatever it was that had helped him find her, sense her, bring him to that moment, and he latched onto it.

Suddenly, he felt himself wrapped in a myriad of emotions. Some his, some hers. Many so similar between the two of them they were practically the same. Anger, hurt, confusion…He glanced at her and he knew she was feeling it too…the connection…

But then, it was over.

Shut off like a water faucet.

She locked eyes with him and let out a low growl in her throat. “Stay out of my head,” she threw at him.

Without thinking about it, he replied, “I’m not here to hurt you.”

She looked over his shoulder then, at the fight between his comrades and hers, and said, “I don’t believe you.” Then she raised her lightsaber and lunged at him.

Kylo deflected her blow easily, but found himself on the defensive as she continued to aim a volley of well-aimed strikes at him.

Yes, she was a fighter…

Pushing back at her with the Force, he surprised her and was able to recover his position and, thus, hold his ground. Realizing what he had done, though, she tapped into her own Force powers and began to assail him yet again with another round of jabs and slashes. This time, however, Kylo was prepared for it, and he met her blow for blow.

He had no intention of losing.

 

* * *

**Rey**

_Han and Leia’s son. This is Han and Leia’s son._ Rey kept hearing these words repeating over and over again in her head as she swung her lightsaber in an emotion-filled fury at the tall masked man before her.

What did she care who he was the son of, though? He was a murderer. An untrustworthy monster. No one she wanted to have anything to do with.

And yet, she did.

Even if unwanted.

Unneeded.

There was that…thing…the Force…Her…Him…

“‘I’m not here to hurt you,’” he had said. Well what did that mean? What about Luke and Chewie? Did he mean to hurt them?

The young woman was so confused she wanted to scream, instead she continued swinging her lightsaber in ever increasingly wild arcs.

She wished he would just go away. Leave her to figure out things with Master Luke as she had intended to. Even if it would have taken her days, possibly weeks to get him to fully open up to her.

Suddenly, the two did a strange kind of dance with their feet, crossing their weapons together in the process, and bringing them mere inches from each other.

“You don’t know why I’m here?” Ren said, his voice emotionless because of the synthesized sound the helmet produced.

Rey stared at him. At the mask he wore. And, all of a sudden, the image of his real face materialized before her, as she remembered it. Pale and narrow. Young.

_Han and Leia’s son…_

No!

She needed to concentrate. He was a terrible, despicable creature. Not be trusted in any way. But, even so, she found her resolve weakening.

“I don’t care why you’re here,” she said, but not very forcefully. “I just want you to leave.”

Abruptly, he stepped away from her, deactivated his lightsaber, and dropped it to the ground. The young woman was so surprised by this sudden act, she gaped at him. shocked. What was he up to?

She was even more stunned when he swiftly reached up to his helmet and lifted it off his head. Just like another moment not so long ago…

And everything stood still for an instant, like time ceased to exist.

Just them.

And Rey didn’t just imagine his face then, she saw it. And it frightened her. But not in a way she was prepared for her.

There, right across his face was a scar. Pale and smooth looking. A scar she knew she caused with the very lightsaber she now held in her hand. She didn’t know whether to be proud or disgusted. She was neither, really. She just…was…

Confused… 

“I’m not leaving this island without you,” he said. In his regular voice, his human one. The one that belonged to a boy named Ben who had two parents once a long time ago, in a different life.

Rey opened her mouth to reply - with a retort of some kind, but she found she couldn’t move her tongue. It was like she had forgotten how to speak. She was irritated by his audacity and wanted to tell him so, but she was even more bothered by herself and her apparent inability to function normally at the moment.

_Breathe,_ she told herself. 

In out. In out. In out.

She began to feel the beginnings of a word forming on her lips. But just as she prepared herself to speak, a loud explosion rocked the island.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo dropped his helmet and grasped at the empty air for support. His knees threatened to buckle beneath him, but he remained standing through sheer force of will. What was going on?

He glanced over toward the girl and saw she had been knocked off her feet and was lying in a pitiful heap on the ground, not moving.

Suddenly, a strange feeling of desperation came over him. Was she dead? Did he care if she was? He reached out to her through the Force and felt life. He couldn’t feel or see anything else, but she lived. Just to know that, though, was enough.

Regaining his equilibrium, the young man looked around and saw off in the distance quite a spectacle. His uncle – Skywalker – had somehow incapacitated all of his Knights, which would explain the recent explosion, and Chewbacca was tying them all together in one big bundle, minus their weapons.

Frustrated, Kylo summoned his lightsaber to him and snapped it securely back onto his belt. He grabbed his helmet, placed it once more onto his head, then turned to the girl.

She was out cold.

He knelt down beside her and, surprising himself, gently rolled her onto her back. Doing a quick scan of her prostrate form, and seeing nothing other than a large bruise on one side of her forehead, scooped her into his arms, stood up, and began to walk.

In the direction of Skywalker.

Much to his chagrin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hux**

“Supreme Leader.”

Hux bowed his head in reverence as the hologram of the Supreme Leader of the First Order appeared before him; as he did so, he did his best to calm his racing heart – not something he was used to doing, but Kylo Ren, the fool, had made things a little difficult for him in the past few hours. 

In the worst kind of way.

Like life or death serious.

If he managed to survive this conversation with the Supreme Leader, which he very much did plan on doing, Hux had already formulated a few ideas on how he would make the stuck-up clod pay.

“General,” the Supreme Leader acknowledged him, his voice calm and collected, almost eerily so. “I had expected to meet with you and Kylo Ren at this time, but instead I receive an urgent message from you requesting audience via hologram. What is the meaning of this?”

Hux stood ramrod straight as he replied, “There has been an unforeseen delay, sir.”

The Supreme Leader stared at him, his face as expressionless as ever. “What kind of ‘delay?’”

Hux breathed in deeply through his nose. Normally, he would have been ever so happy to share news of Ren’s wayward behavior, but no, not this time. This time it could be his neck on the line. After all, the ship was under his command. Whether orders were implemented or not were his business.

And he should have made some sort of order regarding Ren. But who could have foreseen what he did? Particularly on the day they were to meet with the Supreme Leader.

“Sir,” Hux said, hoping his voice sounded controlled and not nervous, “it would seem Kylo Ren has abandoned ship.”

There was a long silence, then, when the Supreme Leader spoke, his voice was so icy Hux thought he could feel the chill through the hologram. 

“Explain,” he said.

And the young General did, describing in purposeful limited detail the whole embarrassing debacle of Ren’s desertion from the ship. When he finished, there was a long pause, and he felt the Supreme Leader’s cold, dark eyes regarding him rather calculatingly.

When the leader of the First Order finally spoke, his words were laced with displeasure. “I’m surprised at you, General. Another crisis so soon after Starkiller. How disappointing. I expected better from you.”

“Yes sir,” Hux said.

But the young man refused to hang his head in shame just yet. He had one more card up his sleeve. Something he hadn’t told the Supreme Leader about. 

His back-up plan. 

“However, sir,” he continued, “I might actually know where Ren is.”

The Supreme Leader looked at him with some skepticism, which rankled the officer more than he wanted to let on. “How?” he asked.

Hux tapped at his waist with his fingers. “I had a tracking device installed in Ren’s belt months ago. It was how I found him during Starkiller’s destruction, although I never told him that. I don’t believe he even remembers it’s there.”

“And?” the Supreme Leader prompted, his body language now giving away interest.

Hux couldn’t help the excitement suddenly coursing through him, which he was sure reflected in his voice as he said, “And the tracking device is still displaying an active signal.”

The Supreme Leader seemed suddenly to relax. “So tell me, General, just where in the galaxy has my apprentice taken himself.”

Hux shook his head slightly. “A planet I’m not familiar with, I’m afraid. A water world by the name Ahch-To.”

Suddenly, the Supreme Leader grew quiet. After a few moments, he said rather simply, “Report back to me when you have more news, General,” and he abruptly ended their connection.

Hux stared at the now empty space before him, bewildered, but it didn’t last long because…

He was safe. He had a reprieve. He could breathe fully again. 

At least for the moment.

And Kylo Ren…

He hoped his men were able to find him. Because if they did, he was going to make sure the fool paid. One way or another.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo eyed Skywalker with aggravation. He didn’t want to talk to him. He didn’t want to have anything to do with him. He just wanted to take the girl and go. But no, even with his Force powers he knew he was no match for both Chewbacca’s bowcaster and the old Jedi.

He suddenly felt the urge to break something, but he resisted. Instead, he tightened his hold on the girl. 

How the tides had changed. A little over a week ago, he was scouring the galaxy for any information regarding Skywalker’s whereabouts, and now here he was, and Kylo had lost all interest in him.

He had found a different prize instead.

Skywalker’s voice broke into his thoughts then. “What are you doing here, Ben?”

Kylo inwardly flinched at the name “Ben” and everything that was attached to it.

“That’s none of your business,” Kylo replied.

Skywalker’s face took on a sad look, but just as quickly, it cleared and he said, “It’s Rey, isn’t it?” he gestured toward the girl. “You’re here for her?”

Rey. Kylo tested the name out in his mind. He, of course, had heard her name before, but he had never used it in reference to her. She had always just been “the girl.” And he wasn’t about to start using it in front of Skywalker either.

“What I do doesn’t concern you, old man,” he snarled through the helmet.

The Jedi shook his head. “I will always be concerned about you, nephew.”

Suddenly, a series of images from a long time ago flashed through Kylo’s mind. Skywalker, young and blond haired. A rock levitating off the ground. A little boy clapping his hands in glee. The Force. Learning about it. Embracing it...

The young man bit his lip so hard he it made it bleed.

He didn’t have time for this. Any of it.

But Skywalker was looking at him knowingly. Which begged the question: What exactly did the Jedi know? About him?

_About what he had done…?_

Kylo looked down at the girl in his arms. What had she told the old man?

Did it matter?

Returning his focus to Skywalker, he said, “I don’t need your concern.”

 

* * *

**Luke**

Luke regarded his nephew with sorrow, although he made sure to keep his face an impassive mask. He did not want the young man to know how deeply he hurt for him; it would possibly only make the situation they found themselves in more strained and tense. And he didn’t want that.

He wanted…

What he wanted didn’t matter. Whatever want he had had ended a long time ago. Now he needed to focus on what was needed.

And there were a million of those.

He decided to start with the easiest one first, and go from there.

“Rey needs help,” he said abruptly, gazing at the still woman cradled in his nephew’s arms.

Ben shifted his hold on the young woman. “She’s breathing.”

“That’s a pretty bad-looking bruise she’s got,” Luke persisted.

“She’ll live,” was the response.

A long silence followed. Luke looked over to where Chewbacca held the Knights of Ren captive.

Eventually, the Jedi Master turned back to his nephew. “What are your plans, Ben?” He paused briefly, then added, “And I mean concerning Rey?” Really, he meant in regard to everything, but he couldn’t say that.

His nephew scoffed. “I owe you no explanation.”

“No, you don’t. But I can guess,” Luke replied. He let a moment pass, then, “She’s the reason you’re here, isn’t it? You want to leave here with her.” 

Ben didn’t reply, and Luke knew that he had assumed correctly. But oh, how was he to handle this very messy situation? An unconscious girl. An extremely disgruntled young man. A tied-up group of henchman. And one seriously peeved Wookie. Not the best of circumstances…

Luke sighed. He hadn’t asked for this. Hadn’t wanted it. But it had all come to him anyway.

As he knew it would.

His thoughts turned to his sister. To Leia. Rey had said she wanted him to come home. That he was needed…

And there it was, another need. But how could he answer it?

The Jedi looked once again at Rey wrapped in Ben’s arms. She needed help right now.

First things first.

He turned to his nephew. “Here are your options, Ben,” he said, and he could tell by the young man’s agitated shift he didn’t like hearing that. “Bring Rey and come with me. Or, Chewbacca fires his bowcaster and I can’t make any promises about what follows.”

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo clenched his teeth together. His hand itched to grab his lightsaber at his side, but to do so would mean having to set the girl down, and there was no way he was doing that.

He looked disappointedly over at his Knights; a few of whom were beginning to come to. He had told them to subdue Skywalker and Chewbacca, not to get _themselves_ made prisoners. For the love of the galaxy, there were six of them!

He closed his eyes, then, annoyed. He knew his luck with locating the girl had been too good to hold. Something was bound to go wrong. It always did. The constant story of his life. 

Stars, he did not want to have to do what he knew he was going to have to do.

He had no choice, though.

The young man turned to his Knights.

“I’m going with Skywalker.”

Short pause.

He looked at Chewbacca and his bowcaster.

“Do whatever the Wookie tells you."

Then, thinking about it, realizing his men probably weren’t familiar with Shyriiwook, added, “Just don’t do anything stupid.” 

* * *

 

**Snoke**

Supreme Leader Snoke slowly paced the length of his private chambers.

So his apprentice had gone off on some secret mission, had he? Done his very best to his cover his tracks so he couldn’t be found. Told absolutely no one – not even him, his master.

Why?

The Leader of the First Order gazed thoughtfully at a map of the known galaxy he had projected across the space of the room.

Ahch-To.

Yes, he was familiar with that planet. But barely. It had been a long time, a very long time since he had given it any thought. 

He should have, though.

He knew what it was.

And Kylo Ren, the reason he was going there. Well, there could only be one reason.

_Someone…_

But the question that remained was if it was the someone he thought…or another?

Finding his way to one of the stiff, high backed chairs in the room, the Supreme Leader collapsed into it, his bones creaking and popping with the movement. How he despised that sound.

He prayed General Hux was able to successfully locate and retrieve Ren as he seemed so sure he could.

He needed the young Skywalker.

He _needed_ him…


	7. Chapter 7

**Rey**

Her head hurt. Bad. Like pounding migraine bad. Why did it feel like that? Rey tried to remember what could have caused such an aching pain, but even just thinking felt unbearable to do.

She attempted to open her eyes, but found she couldn’t find the energy to do that. It was just easier to keep them closed.

Actually, it was easier to just not even do anything at all. Maybe the terrible headache would go away…

Somewhere nearby, a voice said, “Here, bring her in here.” It sounded familiar, but it was a little faint and hard to know for sure. Not to mention, her head was throbbing like mad. Luke? Was it Luke? “Be careful with her,” the voice spoke again. Yes, Luke, definitely him. That was good to know. He’d take care of her.

Suddenly, another voice spoke up, and she could make it out perfectly despite its strange electronic sound. “I am being careful.”

Who was it, though? The voice was odd, but also one she thought she knew, but the haze in her brain produced by the headache made it hard to focus. 

And the person was close – like so close she could feel him.

Was…was this strange sounding person carrying her!? 

If so, whoever it was had to be rather strong – the individual’s grip seemed secure, but not too tight. Safe. And the person was warm. Rey liked the warm, cradle-like embrace. It was very comforting. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had held her so, if ever.

“Put her on the bed here,” Luke’s voice instructed.

A couple of seconds later, Rey felt herself be gently laid down on a rather firm feeling mattress.

Suddenly, there was a clicking sound, the clatter of something heavy on the floor, and a young man’s voice said rather anxiously, “This is all your fault, you know? That whole little exploding act of yours. It knocked the girl clean off her feet.”

Rey’s ears perked up despite the pain in her skull. Yet another voice, and again, one she was positive she had heard before. Where?

“So you’re worried about her, then?” Luke asked.

There was a long pause, then the younger-sounding man said, “Think whatever you want, Skywalker.”

“I will,” was the response.

Rey heard some rummaging and what sounded like feet shuffling about, then Luke’s voice again as he said, “If you’re going to stand there hovering over the young woman, you could at least apply this to that bruise.”

Again, another long moment of silence – Rey wished desperately she could see what was going on – then, the sound of ripping paper. The next thing she knew, someone was very delicately, as if the person was almost hesitant to do so, smoothing her hair away from her face, and then, even more gently, carefully applying something to her forehead, right where the epicenter of her pain was.

Almost instantaneously, she felt some of the bite to her headache recede.

Relief.

Then…

“Ben,” Luke said.

“Stop calling me that!” the young man growled back.

The two voices, Luke’s and the young man’s, continued going back and forth with each other, one imploring the other argumentative, but Rey didn’t hear them. Her mind was spinning.

_Ben?!_

Kylo Ren.

How had she not realized that sooner!?

The young woman inwardly groaned.

Kylo Ren, that…that… despicable…man, he …had touched her. Carried her – like a groom carries his bride. And she…she had enjoyed it. In her headache induced stupor, she had liked him holding her.

Oh galaxy…

As if it wasn’t already bad enough that she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Now this?

Suddenly, _his_ voice cut into her thoughts. She wanted to ignore it, but something – his tone, a word – something caught her attention and she couldn’t tune him out any more.

“…I’m not here with the First Order,” Kylo Ren snarled.

“I know what happened at Starkiller,” Luke replied.

“You don’t know everything.”

“Then tell me.”

“Why? For you to say I’m lying as usual?”

This was important, this conversation, and Rey strained her ears to listen and her mind to focus, but she found she couldn’t do either very well as a sudden wave of tiredness washed over her. The thing they had put on her forehead, whatever it was, it seemed to have a side effect…drowsiness.

The last thing she remembered thinking before sleep claimed her once again was why Kylo Ren would believe Luke thought he was a liar.

He was, wasn’t he?

* * *

 

**Luke**

Luke stared sadly at his nephew. “I don’t think you’re lying, Ben.”

Several heartbeats passed. The young man who now called himself “Kylo Ren” said nothing, instead he gazed fixedly at the prone figure of the young woman on the bed. The Jedi Master longed to know what he was thinking about, but refrained from asking.

There had been a time once, long ago, Luke remembered with sorrow, when this very same boy – an adult now, a child then – had come to him with both his worries and joys. Sometimes, even before his parents. Wanting to tell his “Uncle Luke” before anyone else. Asking him advice, sharing his adventures and accomplishments…

“It’s too late, old man,” his nephew finally replied. Then, turning to face him, his voice expressionless, added, “Your words mean nothing to me now.”

Luke felt his heart drop into his stomach, as what Ben said resounded over and over in his ears.

He had heard these words before. Another time, another place. Him. Ben. The Knights of Ren. Destruction. Chaos. Failure…

No.

_No!_

Not again.

Suddenly, words Luke himself had spoken what felt like a lifetime ago, when he himself was a young man, surfaced in his thoughts. Words about another person he had cared for. Words about someone who had also…walked a darker path.

_"There is still good in him."_

He had said that to Obi-Wan regarding his father, Darth Vader. And if someone as committed to the Dark Side as Vader had been was still able to find the Light at the end, then there was hope for Ben. Even if he could not see it.

After all, didn’t he say he hadn’t come to Ahch-To with the First Order? That had to mean something, right? Of course, it made the Jedi Master even more curious about what his nephew was up to. Yes, he had come looking for Rey, but what did he want her for? What was he hoping to accomplish? And just where was the First Order going to fit into all this…if at all?

Suppressing feelings of worry, Luke’s thoughts abruptly turned to another person.

Han.

His friend.

The Jedi closed his eyes briefly, remembering the smiling, happy face of the smuggler from when they were young, first flying out around the galaxy together on the _Falcon_.

It hurt to think about him. What happened…

But…

Han, too, must have believed that there was hope for his wayward son. Even if he had ended up paying the ultimate price for it.

Could Luke believe any less?

Taking a deep breath, the Jedi said, “It’s never too late, Ben.”

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo stood speechless for a moment, unsure how to react to what Skywalker said. Did the Jedi honestly believe that? That everything that happened between them in the last twenty or so years would just disappear and be forgotten? That everything would just somehow be okay…no matter how bad things had become?

Better yet, could he, himself, believe that?

No. He could not.

And yet…

Just behind him he could feel the girl’s presence. Something there. A feeling. But not just that….

The sudden the remembrance of a choice.

The young man shook his head as if to clear his mind of any distracting thoughts. It didn’t matter what Skywalker believed. He knew why he had come to that island…and it wasn’t for anything the old man said or had to offer him. He had made a plan for himself and that was that.

The young man opened his mouth to offer some retort to the Jedi, but before he could, a sudden loud beeping sound distracted both of them.

Kylo could barely believe his eyes as another figure from his past abruptly rolled into the small hut without preamble.

R2-D2.

But it was anything but nostalgia Kylo felt when he saw the astromech droid. Instead, he felt a terrible sinking feeling in his stomach. Something wasn’t right.

And that feeling was only reinforced as Skywalker said, “First Order ships? Are you sure?”

The droid made another beeping noise, and Skywalker turned to Kylo, a frown creasing his brow. “Artoo says he detected four First Order ships enter this system.” 

Kylo felt a lump form in the back of his throat. First Order ships? How was that possible? He had taken every precaution…

The young man suddenly clenched his fists. It was that blasted Hux, he knew it. Somehow he had figured out where he was and sent his goons after him. If he ever saw that annoying red-haired weasel again…

“…Ben?”

Kylo looked at Skywalker. The older man had said something, but he had entirely missed what it was, so he merely shook his head and stated, “They’re not here on my orders.” He paused, then added, “I told you, I didn’t come here with them.”

“How did they find us then?” the Jedi prodded, irritating the younger man.

Kylo gritted his teeth. “I have no idea.” He took a deep breath. “I blocked all the First Order tracking devices linked to my ship.”

“Your Knights?”

“Outside of the First Order realm.”

There was a moment of silence, then Skywalker turned back to the droid and said, “Run a scan of my nephew here checking for any hidden tracking devices, Artoo. Those First Order ships found their way here somehow and I want to know how they did it.”

Kylo opened his mouth to protest, but without waiting for his approval to do so, R2-D2 went ahead and did a quick scan of him; immediately, the small droid picked up something and started beeping loudly.

Luke took a step forward and said, “Artoo says you have a tracking mechanism in your belt.”

Kylo was dumbfounded for a moment.

What?!

Then it was like somebody slapped him in the face.

Hux!

How had he forgotten?!

The young man felt his face turn red as he abruptly ripped his belt off and found the offending device; he immediately pulled it out and flung it into a fire Skywalker had burning. Suddenly, he felt an intense urge to throttle someone, but unfortunately, that someone happened to be on the other side of the galaxy.

He turned back toward Skywalker, but the older man had shifted his focus from him to the open door.

“We can finish this conversation later, Ben. I think we have some business elsewhere to take care of first,” he said. Then, he turned to R2-D2 and added, “And I’d like to talk to you as well, Artoo, about picking and choosing which ships to tell me about,” and he nodded his head in Kylo’s direction meaningfully.

The droid did not respond.

Skywalker slipped out of the hut and Kylo was left staring at the empty spot where he had been. The Jedi had clearly meant for the young man to follow him, but he made no move to do so. If truth be told, Kylo had no idea really what the old man was expecting…or hoping…from him.

Compliance?

The Master of the Knights of Ren sighed and grabbed his helmet off the floor, sliding it down over his head. Everything was getting so muddled and his plan had been so simple to start with. Go to Ahch-To, retrieve the girl, and leave. Then Skywalker showed up with his baggage, and now the First Order. He wasn’t prepared for all this. It was like worlds colliding.

Without thinking about it, his eyes drifted past R2-D2 who was still in the hut, probably observing him, to the girl lying helplessly on the bed.

Kylo remembered back to their confrontation just before Skywalker’s explosion. Of her power and ability with the lightsaber. Her strength and determination. He had been impressed – more than he had ever felt with anyone before.

And then there had been the Force. Everything about their encounter had felt so strong with it…

He looked around the quiet hut once more and made a decision. His plan…it was still possible. Skywalker was gone and the First Order wasn’t there yet.

Using his lightsaber, he cut a hole in the back wall of the hut, opposite from the way Skywalker had exited. Then, with Artoo still presumably watching, he leaned over the girl and gently lifted her into his arms once more. Without a backward glance, he departed the abode and began walking.

To the closest possible ship.

* * *

 

**Luke**

“The First Order is on its way here,” Luke announced to Chewbacca, who still had his bowcaster angled toward the Knights of Ren menacingly. The Wookie looked at him, then back over his shoulder at the hut where the Jedi had left his nephew a minute or two ago. Luke shook his head. “Ben said he didn’t call for them. And I – I believe him.”

Chewbacca nodded, simply accepting what he said, and returned his focus to the tied-up group of men; Luke also regarded them. They looked rather pathetic in their current state, but he knew they were tried-and-true warriors. And not only that, but men his nephew trusted to stand by him.

Perhaps they could now use that to help them.

Luke peered up at the sky, his eyes scanning the wide blue expanse. No sign of any incoming ships yet, but they were on their way, and, if he was honest with himself, it frightened him some. It was a different kind of feeling than he had when Ben had arrived. With Ben, he had been wary and concerned, but not scared. He didn’t think he could ever be scared of Ben. Scared _for_ him, but not of him…no matter how many terrible things he had done.

Ben would always be…Ben…that tiny little baby he had once held…Loved…

Suddenly, the sound of a roaring engine caught the Jedi’s attention. He glanced at the sky, but nothing, still no ships.

Then, he looked over and stared.

The _Millenium Falcon_ was slowly lifting off. The Jedi Master didn’t have to use the Force to figure out who was on the ship. He _knew_.

_Ben_.

And Rey.

Chewbacca abruptly let out a roar, and Luke reached over and put a calming hand on his furry arm, while he mentally kicked himself. Why did he ever leave Ben alone with Rey? Had he not guessed that the young woman was the reason his nephew had come to Ahch-To to begin with?...and he just left them alone together!

Force help him, he had actually believed Ben was just going to…

What?!

He had no idea what he thought his nephew was going to do…what he was thinking…what he was feeling…Nothing!

And now he had Rey.

But the strange thing was, Luke didn’t know if this was a bad thing…or a good thing. All he could do was watch – helplessly – as the _Falcon_ suddenly rocketed up into the sky far out of his reach, and wonder. 

Always wondering…

About the past, the present, and the future.

He wasn’t able to do that for long, however, as he suddenly saw four new ships come soaring into Ahch-To’s atmosphere at an alarmingly rapid speed.

The First Order had arrived.

Now it was time for action.

Turning to the Wookie and the bound Knights, he quickly began to form something resembling a plan. It was a crazy one, probably doomed to fail, but it was all he had, and he was going to go with it.

“Chewbacca,” he said, “untie these guys,” and he indicated the six Knights. Chewie shot him a look like he must be going mad, but he simply shook his head and explained, “We’re going to have them follow their Master’s last orders to them…Or else,” and he suddenly activated his lightsaber, its green beam brilliant.


	8. Chapter 8

**Luke**

“You see those ships?” Luke quietly but sternly asked the Knights of Ren, waving his arm with his currently deactivated lightsaber in the direction of the incoming First Order space crafts. “They’re on their way here for your Master.” He let his words sink in for a moment, then added, “Presumably to retrieve him.”

For a moment, there was nothing, just a strange kind of lull. No words. No movement. Just empty silence. 

Then, as a unit, the six masked men began shifting nervously and casting each other quick glances, most likely wondering if what the Jedi Master said was true, perhaps even pondering what he meant by ‘retrieve.’ To be honest, Luke wasn’t even quite sure himself, but if Ben had said he hadn’t called for the ships, then what other reason would they have to come to Ahch-To if not in search of him?

The youngest living member of the famed Skywalker bloodline.

The prize of the First Order. 

The prize of Snoke…

Luke lifted his eyes skyward once more and watched in surprise and dread as two of the crafts suddenly veered off in a different direction.

After the _Millennium Falcon_ …

After Ben.

And Rey. An innocent in this whole mess.

The Jedi exhaled slowly. He didn’t even know what to think anymore. Most especially about his nephew. Good or bad, he didn’t know, but the Force was at work, somehow. He could feel it, and maybe, just maybe, that in itself meant something.

Hope…

He turned back to the Knights. “If you have any loyalty to your Master,” he said. “Any at all. Which,” and he stared hard at them, “I know you do…probably better than anyone…you will do what I tell you.”

There was a long pause, then one of the Knights spoke up. “Our orders were to obey the Wookie, not you, Skywalker. And seeing as how we can’t understand him…”

Luke and Chewie looked at each other. Then, without waiting for instruction from the Jedi, the Wookie suddenly let out a mighty roar, turned and aimed his bowcaster off at some rocks just beyond the Knights, causing a small explosion of flying stones and other debris. Luke didn’t even flinch at the blast, but his nephew’s men all flung their hands over their heads or faces in cover.

“And that, gentlemen,” Luke said, “is my friend’s way of telling you to listen to me, or he can demonstrate the use of his bowcaster again, but this time with a different target…”

The threat hung in the for a moment, then a Knight said, “Fine. Whatever. What do you want us to do?”

Luke stared at the Knight who spoke. “Fight with me,” he replied. “Against the First Order.”

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey rolled over onto her side and cracked her eyes open; she was surprised to find herself staring at the cold, drab walls of the sleeping quarters on the _Millennium Falcon_. Odd. When had she gotten there?

And why did it feel like the world was spinning?

_Like literally spinning!_

Were they – she, and whoever else was onboard – in flight?! If so, why did it feel like they were flying through an asteroid field?

The young woman sat up quickly, and only then realized her head no longer hurt. The terrible headache was gone. Well, that was good news, but just what in the galaxy was going on? Where was Luke? She remembered hearing his voice just moments ago…

Was it moments?

And the other one. Kylo Ren. Where was he?

For the briefest second in time, she remembered the feeling of his arms wrapped around her, cradling her. Holding her like she was his…

She shuddered, forcing the memory away. That was the _last_ thing she wanted to think about.

Standing up on shaky legs, she propelled herself out into the hallway, swaying with each jerky motion of the ship. Bracing herself against the wall, she edged her way through the vessel toward the cockpit, while a multitude of questions formed in her now very alert brain. Number one being: Who was flying the ship? 

It didn’t take long for her to find out.

Rounding the corner that lead into the cockpit, she came to an abrupt stop, her heart dropping into her stomach.

No, it couldn’t be. How…?

_Him._

And suddenly, hitting her like a brick wall, a strange sensation came over her. A feeling – not hers, but one she recognized. A longing. For something. Home. And there was this ship. And there was laughter. And loving arms. And hugs and kisses.

And sadness…

“I know you’re there.”

His voice.

No, not _his_ voice. The mechanical one. His mask.

“I can feel you,” he said.

Rey stood frozen for a moment. Not because she was scared, strangely, but because she was surprised. Were those his thoughts she had somehow tapped into again?

Alarmed and annoyed, she stalked the rest of the way into where he was sitting at the controls; he barely glanced her way, though, as he suddenly pulled the _Falcon_ into a sharp turn, nearly throwing the young woman right into his lap. Just what in the star-strewn sky was he doing?

Rey prepared herself to accuse him of whatever villainy he was up to when her eyes suddenly caught sight of a First Order ship firing at them.

First Order…?

What?!

Suddenly, words from a half-remembered conversation floated into her thoughts.

_“I’m not here with the First Order.”_

He had said that. Ren had said that. She remembered him saying that to Luke in her pain-riddled state.

Oh. My. Galaxy.

Eyes focused on the enemy craft and knees feeling rather watery all of a sudden, she said rather weakly without thinking anything about who she was speaking to, “They’re trying to kill us.”

There was a pause, then, “No,” Ren replied in his synthesized voice. “They’re trying to intimidate us.”

She looked at him blankly, not understanding. “Why would they do that?”

Again, there was a pause before he answered, then, “Because they want us to return to Ahch-To.”

Rey just continued staring at him for a few more seconds, then she felt her senses come back to her, as well as her anger. This was his fault. All of it. How else would the First Order have known anything about Ahch-To?

But then a cold tingle crawled up the length of her spine. And she remembered something else.

Her.

It was because of her.

She had given the destination away to him. And from him – that father-murdering, disgusting…

Suddenly, the _Falcon_ dipped down into a dive as a shot from one of the other ships went soaring overhead, and it was all Rey could do to maintain standing, nevermind holding her last train of thought.

“I suggest you take a seat and buckle yourself in,” Ren stated, unnaturally calm given the circumstances, but then again, it was hard to tell for sure because of the mask.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” the young woman snarled. “This is my ship!”

Unexpectedly, Kylo Ren released his grip on the controls and reached his hands up; Rey prepared herself for some sort of attack, but all he did was grab his helmet and toss it to the floor, then resume his position. 

Once again, Rey found herself staring at the face of a young man, which unnerved her just as much as it did every other time she had seen it. She allowed herself to be distracted enough, that when he said, “Says who?” she barely heard it.

Then, irritated with herself for losing focus, she snapped, “Your mother!”

Silence.

Ren did not reply, and Rey almost wished she could take back what she said. It was just kind of awkward given, well, everything, and it had clearly struck some sort of chord with him. Not to mention, he was very unpredictable. Who knew how he would react to such a statement?

In the end, he did nothing. He kept his eyes focused on flying as he said rather quietly but firmly, as if he hadn’t even heard her last declaration at all, “One of us is going to have to take gunner if we want to have any hope of escaping them.”

Them. As in the First Order.

Rey stood there indecisive. The last thing she wanted to do was take orders from him, but also, she didn’t want to be captured by the First Order either. Not that she wasn’t already his captive, anyway, it would seem…

Inwardly, she fumed. If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t even be in such a predicament at the moment. It was one thing to crash land on the planet she just so happened to be on, but kidnapping her was something completely different altogether.

Still, her chances of escaping, if that was what she had to do, were better with just him, than they were against the First Order.

Desperate times called for desperate measures...

“You,” she said finally, begrudgingly. “You take gunner.” She took a deep breath, then added matter-of-factly, “You’re probably more experienced at it than I am.”

He said nothing for a moment, perhaps not ready or wanting to release his hold on the controls, then smoothly lifted himself from the pilot’s chair.

And stood beside her.

Towered over her, would be more accurate.

And they held each other’s gaze for a split second. Long enough that Rey was able to get a good look at the scar on his face. Then he turned away to head down the corridor, and she slipped into his vacated seat, still warm from him.

Reaching forward, she flipped the intercom switch that would allow them to communicate with each other from their respective locations, then, waiting a few seconds, said, “Ready?”

“Ready,” he replied.

* * *

 

**Luke**

“Where is Kylo Ren?”

_Wouldn’t I like to know_ , Luke thought, but he didn’t say that out loud to the Stormtrooper who asked, instead he studied the soldier in his spotless white armor, as well as the ten others who flanked him.

Not an even match, but Luke had seen worse odds. Eight to eleven wasn’t bad.

“Kylo Ren is here,” the Stormtrooper continued when the Jedi didn’t respond. “We tracked his whereabouts to this island. Now where is he, old man?”

Luke shrugged and said rather airily, “I don’t know what you are talking about. There is no one here by that name.”

The Stormtrooper shifted the blaster he held in his hands. “Stop playing games, old man. You think we don’t know who you are, but we do.”

“And who is that?” Luke asked.

If the Stormtrooper wasn’t wearing a helmet, Luke bet he would have spit on the ground as he said, “Some no account old hermit who’s trying to act more important than he is.”

Luke couldn’t help the smile that suddenly formed on his lips.

“You’re probably right,” he agreed, nodding his head.

The Stormtrooper shifted again, clearly annoyed. “You won’t be smiling much longer, fool, if you’re lying. We’re with the First Order and it’s not very smart to try and double-cross us.”

“So I’ve heard,” the Jedi Master replied, “but me and my friends here,” and he indicated Chewbacca and the six Knights of Ren, who were thankfully being compliant, “we don’t take kindly to threats.”

“Who was on that ship that just departed from here?” the Stormtrooper asked, suddenly changing the topic, ignoring Luke’s veiled warning.

“That’s none of your business,” Luke said.

“So you’re withholding information from the First Order then?”

Luke was tired of all the questions. It was time to make an end of this conversation. Activating his lightsaber, he said, “Yes.” Then, as one, the others around him instantly raised their weapons as well.

“So that’s how it’s going to be, is it?” the lead trooper asked. “Alright, old man, if it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get. Troops,” he held up his hand, “at my order.”

Luke shook his head in disappointment. “You never even asked me my name.”

The Stormtrooper laughed. “No one cares who you are, you worthless scum. No one.”

Seconds later, the air was filled with the sounds of fighting.

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey felt sweat beading on her forehead, but she ignored it as she kept her hands firmly planted on the controls and her eyes focused intently on the shiny silver First Order space craft that was relentlessly pursuing the _Millennium Falcon_ , despite the fact that its companion ship had been blasted into the next system over five minutes ago.

Clearly the pilot of the enemy vessel didn’t know how to take a hint.

Or Kylo Ren was just that important to them.

Possibly both, but...

Seriously, though.

Why was that…man…so valuable to the First Order? The young woman wished she had been able to spend more time with Master Luke. She had so many questions. Luke said there were things she needed to know about Ren, presumably important things. What were they?

Out of nowhere, a name – something she had heard before – whispered through her mind.

_Snoke._

Involuntarily, she shuddered.

_Concentrate_ , she reprimanded herself as she pulled the Falcon into an abrupt ascent to avoid taking some critical hits from the enemy. _You’re going to get yourself killed, or worse, taken captive by the First Order_.

Neither of which were at all appealing.

Not that being Kylo Ren’s captive was appealing either. How was it possible that she could be a captive in her own ship?

Not to mention _docilely_ working with him?! She wracked her brain to explain just how that had happened.

And speaking of the man…

His voice suddenly sounded throughout the cockpit. “Bring us back around and let’s try to go in for another shot at them.” 

Rey didn’t reply, but did do as he requested. Truly abhorrent as it was for her to admit, the man was proving to have impressive…she shuddered…no, decent…skills and tactics when it came to dogfights – having successfully taken out an enemy ship within the first couple of minutes of them working together.

And it had been quite…a sight…

A heart-pounding chase. The _Millennium Falcon_ looping in the air. A surprise attack from behind. A flurry of bright, shining missiles.

Her flying. Him shooting.

It had all been like clockwork.

Suddenly, she thought of her and Finn’s escape from Jakku. The two experiences seemed so similar, yet completely unalike. Then, she had been on her home turf – known the landscape and landmarks as well as how to navigate them. In space, though, everything was different – especially the company she was currently keeping, and because of this, she found herself making herself try harder, do better…

Or maybe she was just being overly precise about everything because she didn’t want him to see her fail…

_No_ , she told herself firmly. She was just a good pilot, that was all. And him, well, he was just…something.

The young woman took a deep breath of air. This was not at all how she thought this day was going to go.

Being complementative of Kylo Ren, for one. No…no…no…no…

Once again, his voice broke into her thoughts.

“Okay,” he said, “now just a little to the left, and…”

A second later, Rey watched in nervous fascination as Ren fired the _Falcon’s_ cannons and one well-aimed shot connected with the remaining First Order ship. She almost clapped her hands together in celebration, but remembered at the last second who she was dealing with, and contained herself.

Besides that, she wasn’t even entirely sure if cheering for those men and women’s demises was a good thing. Sure, they may have been working for a criminal organization, but were their deaths truly necessary?

Was their dying less important than Kylo Ren’s living?

Nothing at all made sense any more, and why did she have the sneaking suspicion that she was smack dab in the center of it all?

She sat in her chair for a few moments, staring at the spot where the enemy ship had last been, now only a memory of smoke and other floating debris. 

What now?

Hearing footsteps pounding their way down the corridor, she pushed herself up out of her seat.

And there he was, Ren, standing in the middle of the cockpit’s entry. She expected his face to be covered in triumphant glee and arrogant pride, but it wasn’t.

If anything, he looked sad.


	9. Chapter 9

**Rey**

Kylo Ren was sad. It was all over his face. And it wasn’t just that, Rey could _feel_ it.

Suddenly, she was taken back to Starkiller. To Han and his death. And the moment afterward. Then...she had seen it then. The same look on his face. Horror. Pain. Sadness.

She had forgotten about that…

But, seeing him now, it made that moment real all over again, and it startled her.

Why was he sad?

Then, as if he had somehow sensed what she was wondering, Ren’s face quickly smoothed to one of indifference, the brief display of emotion gone, and, noticing this, Rey frowned. What did he have to be sad about anyway? He had made his choices. Bad choices. It didn’t matter anything to her.

_But it did…_

Reaching back, she gripped the pilot’s chair behind her, as if to steady herself. Where had _that_ thought come from?! Perhaps she was still feeling some strange after-effects from hurting her head earlier.

“Take me back to Ahch-To,” she said abruptly, breaking the silence.

“No,” he replied. Then, “That would not be wise and you know it.”

She glared at him. She didn’t care how prudent it would be or not. Did he think he was going to get to control her? Do whatever he wanted with her?

Feeling her anger rising, she started to lift her hand some, as if reaching for something, but realized what she was reaching for wasn’t there.

The lightsaber.

She didn’t have it.

Her eyes drifted to Ren’s scar. Would she actually have used it if she did?

Obviously realizing what she was thinking, not through any connection they may share but by her actions alone, Ren shook his head. “You’re strong in the Force, but still untrained. You’d lose against me even if you had the lightsaber.” He didn’t say it in a mean way, or even arrogantly, he just stated it matter-of-factly.

And it was true. She couldn’t beat him. His defeat on Starkiller at her hands had been pure luck and they both knew it. If he hadn’t been previously injured, not to mention, an emotional wreck at the time, it was doubtful she would have won the duel, even with her tapping into the Force.

Not about to back down, though, Rey jabbed a finger in his direction. “You kidnapped me!”

“Now that,” he said, “is up for debate.”

“How so?” Rey looked around at her surroundings before bringing her gaze back to him. “It kind of looks like that way to me.”

“I thought you said this was _your_ ship?” he asked seriously.

Rey ground her teeth together. “It is. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t steal it as well as kidnap me.”

He laughed then, but there was no humor behind it. “Trust me, this would be the _last_ ship I would want to steal.”

That, for some reason, stopped Rey cold, and all she could do was stare at him for a moment. So when she asked, “So how come you’re on it?” it came out a lot more gently than she would have originally said it.

He turned away from her and stared out at the open space beyond.

Several heartbeats passed, then he said, “The First Order was coming and it was the closest ship.”

The young woman absorbed what he said, but her thoughts instantly turned to those who weren’t with them. Luke. Chewbacca. R2-D2. Even his men. What about them?

When Rey questioned him about them, all he did was shrug his shoulders and say, “I don’t know. Still on Ahch-To, I imagine.”

“Still on Ahch-To?!” she exclaimed. “Left to deal with the First Order alone?”

“We did,” he replied, his eyes still focused on the view out the window.

“That – that was different” Rey stuttered, although deep down she knew it wasn’t really.

He didn’t respond and she looked at him – at his tall, darkly clad figure. His broad shoulders and arms she could tell were well muscled despite the fabric covering them. His black hair. His scar…

“Take me back to Ahch-To,” she said again.

“No.”

“I want to help the others.”

“They’re not important.”

_Well, if that wasn’t the most arrogant thing to say…_

Frustrated, she put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. “Please,” she said, “Tell me then. Who is?”

He turned back to her, then, and held her gaze with his dark, dark eyes. Rey desperately wanted to look away, but found herself unable to.

Several long moments passed.

Then, he said,

“You.”

* * *

 

**Luke**

_“Luke…”_

Luke turned his head and looked off toward the other side of his island. Someone – no, something was calling him. And it wasn’t so much a voice he was hearing, it was more…

A feeling.

The Force?

Glancing at Chewbacca, as well as the six Knights of Ren, who were busy organizing unconscious Stormtroopers onto the various ships cluttering the small landmass, the Jedi Master took the opportunity to slip away for the moment. 

There wasn’t a lot of time to dawdle, he knew – no doubt the First Order was probably already aware at least two of their ships were now permanently disabled from their network, thanks to Chewbacca’s superior knowledge of space craft technology, but he had to investigate whatever it was he felt was calling out to him.

Traversing the length of the small island for what could be his final time, he took in every rock, every crashing wave, and every deep breath of salty sea air that he could. He had no choice, he had to leave the island – the planet, but he was going to miss it.

It had been his home. His refuge.

But now, it was just another stop on his on-going journey.

Time to move on.

But first, one last mission needed to be accomplished.

Picking his way carefully along the rocky landscape, he felt that…feeling…whatever it was, reaching out to him. Calling to him. And with every step he took it became stronger. And then…

Suddenly, he saw something…

Silver and shining in the light.

A memory from the past.

He reached out his hand and the object flew into his open palm, like it had been waiting for him to do just that. Calling him…

His lightsaber.

No, that wasn’t right. He had given it away a long time ago. But now, it had found its way back to him…again. How had it ended up out here? 

Rey. She must have dropped it when she hurt herself.

Luke stared solemnly at the lightsaber that his father had once wielded. That he, himself, had used as well. And so, too, had Ben…

Just what was the Force trying to tell him? Want from him?

Wrapping his fingers tightly around the old Jedi weapon, he forced himself to clear his mind.

_Maybe it just wanted him to trust..._

But who or what? was the question.

Slipping the lightsaber inside a satchel he was carrying with him, he hurried back over to where the others were finishing up the last of the preparations for departure. Chewbacca cast him a curious glance, but other than him, no one else paid him any special notice at his sudden reappearance.

“Were you able to get the coordinates from Leia? The Jedi Master asked the Wookie.

Chewie nodded and motioned for Luke to follow him onto one of the ships.

Ben’s ship.

Entering the shuttle’s cockpit, Chewbacca indicated a screen on the control panel; Luke’s eyes widened slightly when he saw where his sister was making the newest Resistance base.

“Really?” he looked at Chewie, who then nodded in affirmation. “And just to be sure, you’re one hundred percent certain the First Order won’t be able to track us there?” The Wookie bobbed his head up and down again.

Luke patted the Wookie gratefully on his arm. “Very good, Chewbacca.” He turned to look out the shuttle’s windows. “Now let’s get these ships in the air. Get Artoo. And get your men ready.” He meant the Knights of Ren. “We’ve got a galaxy to cross.”

* * *

 

**Kylo**

The girl gaped at him, a stunned expression covering her face.

A moment passed.

And another.

Then, crossing her arms and giving him a hard look, she said rather sarcastically, “Oh, nice try. But if you even _think_ saying something like that is going to get you anything…” She stopped herself abruptly, letting her sentence dangle, her cheeks a fine shade of red.

Kylo felt his own cheeks flaming hot, and he desperately wished he was still wearing his mask. Life was so much easier when he had that nice little shield in place.

“All I meant,” he said in a forced calm voice a heartbeat later, “was that you are important…as an _individual_.” He paused, then added, “Nothing else.”

Registering his words, the girl’s face suddenly softened some, but the bright pink flush to her cheeks had yet to disappear.

“I still don’t trust you,” she said a few awkward seconds later.

Kylo contained the sigh that threatened to slip out from between his lips. “I know,” he said, “but you should,” and he slipped past her to sit in the co-pilot’s chair.

She whipped around to face him. “You’ve done horrible, monstrous things!” she exclaimed. “And you expect me to trust you?!”

The young man clenched his fists, frustrated but not angry, and replied in a cool voice, “There are many things you don’t understand.”

The girl exhaled loudly. Out of the corner of his eye, Kylo could see her staring out at the star-filled sky before them.

Eventually, she said, with a touch of irritation to her voice, “So I keep being told.”

Kylo said nothing in response and let a few quiet moments slip by. 

Then, he began pressing buttons on the control panel. This instantly got the girl’s attention.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“Preparing us for a jump to hyperspace,” he replied. 

“Hyperspace?” she repeated. “I don’t want to go with you into hyperspace! I want to go back to Ahch-To with Luke and Chewbacca. What if they’ve been hurt or captured and need help? We - I can’t just leave them!”

Kylo shook his head. While he admired the girl’s tenacity and drive, he was weary of the argument, and said, “No. The First Order could already be sending more ships this way. It’s more important that we get out of here while we can. Skywalker would tell us the same…” He paused, then amended what he was about to say with, “He can manage on his own”

The girl, surprisingly, said nothing in response to that and slumped into the pilot’s chair next to him. Kylo glanced over and saw exhaustion etched on her face. Seeing her like that made him realize just how tired he was as well.

It had been one extremely long day.

Maybe once they were in hyperspace, they could both try to rest a little. He just needed to decide on their destination first…

He was so caught up in his train of thoughts, he almost missed as the girl said quietly, “Why am I so important to you?”

Kylo was taken aback for a moment. Her tone – it wasn’t defiant or even contemptuous. It was…curious, and he didn’t know how to react to that, so he did nothing. He just sat there.

With her. The scavenger from Jakku.

On the _Millennium Falcon_.

Finally, he said, “I need your help to defeat Snoke.”

* * *

 

**Hux**

General Hux dug his clenched fingers so hard into his palms the skin began to break. 

He didn’t feel it, though. Nor did he notice the violent twitch his left eye had begun to do. All he saw were tiny red dots, or rather, the spot on his computer screen where four tiny red dots used to be

Four First Order ships. All gone. Destroyed or otherwise compromised in some way.

What had happened?

Tearing his eyes away from the computer, the young General began to pace.

Ren. That loathsome, detestable abomination. This was all his fault. Everything. Beginning with Starkiller.

Well, no more. Hux had had enough.

He’d report to the Supreme Leader. He had to. About what was becoming ever more obvious to him was Ren’s defection from the First Order. And then…

Then he wanted to see the wretch suffer. Even if he had to search every planet in the known galaxy for him. Even if it was the last thing he ever did…


	10. Chapter 10

**Rey**

Rey was speechless.

Utterly so.

She almost wondered if she was dreaming – that maybe if she pinched herself she would wake up.

She was just so…so…completely flummoxed.

Had Kylo Ren really just asked her to help him defeat Snoke?

That didn’t even seem possible - and was not at all what she thought he was going to say. Not that she had any clue what she expected to come from his lips, but that definitely wasn’t it. Not even close.

Wasn’t Snoke the leader of the First Order? Not to mention, some sort of master to him?

Would that be former master now…? After all, someone who is with the First Order doesn’t suddenly get into a space battle with them out of the blue, right?

She glanced at the young man sitting next to her; he was back to pressing buttons on the control panel and she didn’t make any effort to stop him, despite her earlier protests. For whatever reason, she just couldn’t find it in her to do so.

So when he suddenly began a countdown for a jump into hyperspace, she said and did nothing. She just sat there and let him take her away…again.

It was only when she saw the stars begin to turn into long streaks of light outside the _Millennium Falcon’s_ windows that she jerked herself out of her stupor, prompted by a memory…of another flight through hyperspace onboard the _Falcon_.

With Han.

Suddenly, image after image of the old man’s face slid across her thoughts. And the unnerving thing was, though, they weren’t all her own memories…

She looked at Ren again and saw him running his gloved hands through his hair. _What is he thinking about?_ she found herself wondering, while carefully making sure her own mind was locked tight to any intrusions.

 _No_ , she told herself, _you don’t want to know_.

Still, questions lingered. A lot.

But there was one above all the others she wanted to know the answer to, despite herself. Had to know.

“Why?” she said in a whisper. “Why…Han?"

Ren abruptly stopped making any movements, as if frozen, and a deep silence filled the cockpit. He clearly hadn’t been expecting that question. Now it was his turn to be speechless.

Feeling suddenly bold, Rey repeated herself, elaborating on her prior inquiry. “Why did you do it?” she said. Then, with her voice growing louder, but with more emotion, added, “Why did you kill Han?”

Again, silence.

Nothing.

Then, Ren quickly jabbed his fingers at the control panel, before bolstering himself up out of the co-pilot’s chair. Rey watched him with wary eyes, but all he did was stand there for a moment, unmoving. 

Eventually, after several tense seconds, he said in a rather thick voice, “It had to be done.” And he stalked out into the corridor.

Rey immediately jumped up to follow him.

“‘It had to be done?’” she repeated shouting, chasing after his tall, dark figure. “You _had_ to kill your father?”

The words were out of her mouth before she realized it, but she didn’t regret saying them. Not one bit. This…this was something that had been haunting her. Every day and every night. Ever since Starkiller. She couldn’t escape it.

And now she wanted answers. No matter how painful.

Running up behind him, she reached out and grabbed his arm. Instantly, he whipped around to face her.

“Yes!” he growled, his mouth curved into a terrible sneer and his eyes…his eyes…There was only one way to describe them: Tortured.

Rey twisted her fingers into the coarse material of his sleeve she held. 

“Why?” she said. Always why. Why? Why? Why?

Ren didn’t respond right away, and instead looked down at her hand holding him.

A few heartbeats later, he said, “To prove my loyalty to Snoke,” and he jerked his arm free of her grasp, turning away from her.

Rey stared at him, confused.

“But you just told me you need me –”

“I know what I told you!” he snarled, and he stormed away. Rey watched him go but made no immediate move to follow. Instead, she stared down at her hands which she discovered were shaking.

Some things weren’t adding up very well.

He had to murder Han to prove his loyalty to Snoke? Snoke, a creature he just told her he needed her help to defeat.

What was she to believe? Any of it? All of it?

She leaned against the wall, pressing her face into its cool metallic surface. She needed answers. More of them. If she wanted to have any hope of understanding anything.

All thoughts of going back to Luke and Chewbacca or the Resistance were suddenly forgotten, or at least, stored away for the time being. First, she needed to get to the bottom of this situation with Kylo Ren. He had plans, apparently very big ones, and she wanted to know what they were. Needed to know.

But to do that, she needed to know him. 

* * *

**Kylo**

Kylo slammed his fist onto a nearby table.

He hated being on this ship. Absolutely abhorred it. If he had a choice, he’d fly it to the nearest colonized planet and trade it for something else. Anything else. As long as it could get him from point A to point B.

But he couldn’t. For a good many reasons. Number one of which being the girl he left standing in the passageway mere moments ago. For that reason alone he would just have to endure the detestable vessel and all its unwanted baggage.

Even if it was positively the last place in the galaxy he wanted to be.

He pounded the table one more time, then slowly, dejectedly, sank to the floor.

 _Control_ , he told himself out of habit.

He needed to find control.

Be empty.

He closed his eyes, forcing a calm to wash over him. While he did so, the desire to rest coursed through his whole body, but he couldn’t. Not yet. Not until…

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching, and looked up just as the girl rounded the corner.

“I heard some loud noises coming from in here,” she said, looking at him with apprehension. “What’s going on?”

Kylo felt his cheeks flush, but he managed to say in an even tone, “It was nothing.”

The girl didn’t reply to that but sat down in a nearby chair. Kylo could feel her eyes still on him, and looked to see her observing him. Suddenly, her face turned red – like she was embarrassed about something.

 _Pretty little thing_.

The words snuck up on him, unbidden, but he didn’t deny them. It was the same reaction he had upon seeing her all those days ago on Takodana. He never could have foreseen then how much things were about to change for him.

Because of her.

No, not just her.

Because of him.

Suddenly, the girl’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Where are we going?” she asked.

Kylo blinked. Did he hear her right? Did she just say ‘we?’ Like she had come to terms with the fact that they were traveling together? What had brought about this change? He suddenly felt unsure, not quite certain if he could believe or trust this sudden agreeableness.

What choice did he have, though?

If he was honest with himself, he hadn’t planned this far ahead. His goal had been to find and retrieve the girl, and then…His plans were a little hazy after that. He knew what he wanted to do, what he hoped to accomplish, but all the details in-between…

Time to just let the cards fall where they may.

“Ilum,” he answered. “We’re going to Ilum.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“A planet,” Kylo answered, simply. A place hastily decided upon, but for good reason.

When he didn’t elaborate any further, the girl immediately said, “If you want me to help you do anything, which, by the way, I haven’t decided for sure I am, you’re going to need to tell me a little bit more than that.”

Kylo suppressed the smirk that threatened to form on his lips. He _knew_ the girl would not appreciate it, and said, “It’s an ice world that was ravaged by the Empire years before you or I were born.”

“Okay, and just why do you want to go there?”

“Because,” Kylo said, leaning forward, “it’s a place that was once very sacred to the Jedi.”

The girl’s eyes suddenly widened. “The Jedi?!” she said. Then, swiftly, her expression turned cloudy, as if she was thinking deeply about something. “I thought you…”

She didn’t finish her sentence. 

She didn’t need to, though.

Kylo knew it wasn’t going to be anything in his favor.

At least it seemed she was trying to be something comparable to considerate. But really, where had this sudden shift in attitude come from he wanted to know?

Several moments of silence passed and the young man felt another wave of tiredness sweep over him. He ran his hands through his hair and rolled his shoulders and head a few times, forcing himself to stay alert, but he was just so sleepy…

Eventually, the girl started to speak again, and he picked up on a few words she said like “scheme” and “Snoke” and “First Order” and “truth,” but he found it so hard to follow what she was saying. Everything was starting to get fuzzy.

Sleep was attempting to claim him.

 _No!_ his brain wanted to say. He needed to stay awake for the girl. To make sure she didn’t try anything. Like turn the ship around.

But he couldn’t.

He just couldn’t…

And the last thing he remembered just before his eyes shuttered closed in exhaustion, was himself whispering the words, “Trust me.” 

* * *

**Snoke**

“It is of my firm belief, sir,” General Hux said via hologram, “that Kylo Ren has deserted the First Order.”

The Supreme Leader stared at the flickering image of the red-haired officer. This was not the news he had hoped to receive, but it was the news he had expected.

He just didn’t know what it meant.

Shifting in his chair, Snoke felt his joints creak and wondered if the General could hear the sound through their poor hologram connection. He doubted it, but it made him even more aware of how time was slipping by and he had so much work left unfinished.

He sighed inwardly. He had hoped to have Kylo Ren continue his training a little longer, but perhaps it was time to speed things up a bit. Move onto the next phase.

But to do that, though, he needed the Skywalker heir – no matter where the young Force-user’s allegiance be.

Snoke appraised Hux calculatingly. He knew the young man detested Ren. In fact, he could practically feel the fury he felt for him, and he also knew how much it must rankle the officer that his Force-sensitive counterpart had out-maneuvered him not once but twice.

Thus, making him more motivated to find the wayward apprentice.

Snoke knew he had chosen wisely when he had raised the young Hux to General.

“I have already dispatched more teams in search of Ren, sir,” Hux suddenly said in a rather self-assured voice. “Wherever he is, wherever he is going – we’ll find him. No stone will be left unturned. He cannot hide from the might of the First Order.”

The Supreme Leader relaxed back in his seat. “Find him, General,” he said. “And then, bring him to me.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Rey**

Rey gazed in disbelief at the inert form of Kylo Ren.

He was sleeping.

Sleeping?!

The young woman wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Unsettled, maybe?

This…everything…it was all his plan, his idea, and now he was just…asleep. What was she supposed to do? She felt tired herself, but there was no way she could think about napping when the First Order could be coming right after them. Someone needed to be keeping guard.

She eyed the young man. His face looked smooth and peaceful in rest. Serene. Unburdened. Entirely human. With a certain air of dignity and elegance about him. A natural aura of strength.

_Nothing like a monster…_

But, underneath all that, there was something else – something she had glimpsed before. Something that resonated more deeply with her than she wanted to admit.

_Loneliness._

Suddenly, goosebumps broke out up and down her arms and she bolted out of her chair, heading in the direction of the galley, away from the slumbering Ren.

It crossed her mind that she could use this opportunity to escape, but she shoved the thought aside. No, she had resolved herself to see this…Ren’s plan…through. Whatever it was. She wasn’t changing her mind now.

Quickly fixing herself some caf in the _Falcon’s_ small kitchen, she carried it with her to the cockpit.

And sat and watched the galaxy stream past her…

Some time later, her caf all gone, she let her eyes flutter closed for a moment to rest them. It couldn’t have been for more than a few seconds she figured, but the next thing she knew, though, someone was tucking a blanket gently around her. Not arguing with the thoughtful gesture, she burrowed into the cover’s warmth. 

* * *

 

**Kylo**

_Ilum._

Sacred planet of the Jedi.

Or maybe not so sacred anymore.

The planet was a wreck. There was no other way of saying it. 

From his view onboard the _Falcon_ , Kylo was able to observe large gaping wounds in the world’s surface, courtesy of the minions of the late emperor who had gone there treasure hunting shortly after the annihilation of the Jedi – ransacking the place and leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.

In short, it was not a pretty sight, and the visible destruction felt like a violation against the Force.

Suddenly, Kylo felt cold, whether from staring at the ice planet or as a result of his thoughts he wasn’t sure, but the sensation sent a jolt through him – a reminder.

If he was going to go there – him and the girl together, they were going to need to be better equipped. Particularly, he realized, glancing at the girl sleeping peacefully in the captain’s chair, in the area of clothes. Her outfit would never hold up in such harsh conditions.

Turning his back on the ice world, he marched his way down the ship’s corridor. As he did so, he felt the years suddenly slide away. And with each step, memories long-buried slipped into focus.

Him. A little boy. Smiling. Racing back and forth around the vessel. Hiding in places and waiting to be found. Ignoring his mother’s calls to come out. Sneaking into the cockpit. His father’s strong hands lifting him into the air…

Kylo clenched his hands into fists. Blasted ship. He didn’t have time for such foolish thoughts. They were nothing but distractions. Displays of a weak mind.

And yet, as he pulled open a storage closet door and began rummaging around inside, he didn’t push the memories away. 

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey cracked her eyes open and was surprised to find a large planet looming just before the _Millennium Falcon’s_ windows

Ilum?

When had they gotten there? How?

_Oh galaxy, how long had she been asleep? Some sentry she was!_

She moved to stand up, and watched as a blanket that had been covering her fell to the floor around her feet. Where had that come from? She stooped to pick it up and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

It was no blanket.

It was…

Kylo Ren’s coat.

But what was she doing with it?

Immediately, the memory of someone placing a blanket over her in her half-asleep state surfaced in her mind, and like a light switch suddenly being flipped on, her face deepened to a fine shade of red in realization.

Tossing the coat away from her into the co-pilot’s chair, she made to leave the cockpit. She was about halfway out the door when she suddenly stopped. 

From out of nowhere, images of a dark-haired little boy permeated her thoughts. She knew him, but he was different. Younger. And he was smiling and laughing. And he was there – on the _Millennium Falcon._

And there was Leia.

And Han.

And they were all happy.

Especially the little boy. He was so thrilled when his daddy threw him up into the air and then caught him. Like his father was just the galaxy to him…

Rey gasped and pulled herself out of the memory. Because that’s what it was. Just like earlier, when she first found herself on the ship and realized he – Kylo - was there too. She was seeing his memories. Feeling them.

The _Falcon_ …it was probably just one big trigger for him. A reminder of his past. No wonder he said the ship would be the last one he would want to steal. It brought back memories of what once was. Who he once was.

The young woman took several deep calming breaths. _What happened?_ she found herself wondering. How did he go from being that happy little boy to…

To…

What he now was…?

She shrugged the thought away. That was a question for another time. For the moment, she needed to find out what the plans were now that they had reached their destination.

Seconds later, she located Ren digging through the contents of a storage closet.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her tone sounding more accusatory than she intended.

The young man whipped around and stared at her with glassy, unfocused eyes, as if he was seeing her but not really _seeing_ her. A silence stretched between them, and in that time, Rey saw a glimpse of the little boy from the memory. She didn’t know if it was just because it was still on her mind or because perhaps it was still on his, but she wasn’t about to go searching through his thoughts, or even her own, to find out.

When he realized he was staring, Ren frowned and turned his attention back to the closet. “I’m looking for some proper clothing for you to wear on Ilum. That outfit is not fit for such a planet.”

Rey looked down at her simple tunic and pants, then blushed because of the accuracy of his statement. Feeling somewhat slighted, though, she said, “I could look for that myself,” and maneuvered herself so she could also see into the closet.

Without looking at her, Ren replied, “You wouldn’t know what to look for. A simple coat isn’t going to cut it. We’re talking about arctic temperatures. And you have no experience with that.” He paused, then added, “At least not any real experience.”

He was thinking about Starkiller, but Rey let the comment slide. It was his fault that she had been there to begin with, in her desert scavenger garb no less. He knew it and she knew it. No need to bring the touchy subject up just then when she had other more pressing questions to ponder.

“Are you finally going to tell me what we’re doing on Ilum?” she asked instead.

Ren didn’t reply, but slowly piled his arms full of assorted puffy-looking garments. When he seemed pleased with what he had, he finally turned to face her, and Rey suddenly realized how close they were both standing to each other.

Very close.

When she moved to take a step back, she hit her elbow on the door frame, and couldn’t help the tiny “Ow” that escaped her lips. Ren eyed her curiously, and she felt her face flush under his stare.

“Here, take these,” he said, handing over the various pieces of clothing. During the exchange, however, his hand, which Rey realized was currently ungloved, brushed her arm and sent a strange tingling sensation coursing through her. Surprised by this reaction, Rey nearly dropped the garments and quickly shot her eyes up to see what Ren’s response was.

Nothing.

He had already stepped away from her, his back once again to her, as he strolled away down the corridor.

Flustered, she shouted, “You never answered me about Ilum! Why are we going there?”

Ren stopped, then slowly turned to face her, his face an unreadable mask as he said, “Kyber crystals. We’re going there for kyber crystals.” He paused briefly, reflectively, then added, “If there are any left.”

“Kyber crystals?” Rey repeated, softly. Why did that sound so familiar?

Ren gazed at her, perhaps trying to read her thoughts, then said, “To use for your new lightsaber. Seeing as how you don’t have mine anymore…” 

* * *

 

**Leia**

“Princess Leia! Princess Leia!” 

Leia looked up at the sound of her name being called and saw C3P0 scuttling across the control room floor as fast as his robotic limbs would carry him.

“Princess Leia,” the protocol droid said again in a rather excited voice, not bothering to correct himself to address Leia by her now preferred title of “General.” “It’s Master Luke!” he exclaimed. “He just sent a message that he is about to enter our atmosphere!”

“Luke?” Leia repeated her brother’s name, her mind instantly summoning a picture of his face.

Ever since she had heard from Chewbacca earlier in the day asking for the Resistance’s current coordinates, she had hoped Luke would be joining him, but now she knew for sure and her heart was glad.

She flashed C3P0 a grateful smile. “Thank you, Threepio,” she said. Then, with some gusto, added, “I say it’s time we welcome Master Luke home.”

“I agree, Prin-…er…General,” the droid replied. “I’ll go tell the others.”

Leia watched him leave, then headed, herself, out to the ship landing area, her excitement from moments ago giving way to nervousness. She really didn’t know what to expect when Luke arrived.

Would he still be the same quiet-spoken, mild-mannered brother she remembered, or had time and events jaded him? Had he become something of a cynic traveling around the galaxy by himself, intentionally cut off from those who cared about him most?

She didn’t know, but she needed him. She needed his steady, reliable strength that she had always been able to count on, probably ever since they shared their mother’s womb. After everything that had happened recently she needed that constant again in her life now more than ever.

She had been hurt when he left - not quite understanding the rather abrupt departure, but she had known deep down that was what he needed to do.

But now…

Five dark masses suddenly loomed in the airspace above her. _Five?!_

The General looked around and saw several others starting to gather around her, all looking up at the new, in-coming ships.

“General Organa,” Poe Dameron approached her. “Ma’am, three of those ships look like First Order vessels.”

Leia didn’t respond, but kept her eyes trained on the space crafts. Poe was right about their design, but she didn’t sense anything ominous from them. To be sure, though, she drew upon a source of power deep within herself, reached out, and searched…

And there he was.

She could sense him. His presence.

“It’s Luke,” she said quietly, turning to face the young pilot briefly, before focusing once more on the ships. “It’s okay.”

She wondered why the _Millennium Falcon_ wasn’t among the group, but pushed the concern aside for the moment, figuring she would have answers momentarily.

By this time, a real crowd was beginning to form, and everyone watched on bated breath as the five vessels slowly came in to land. Word had spread like wildfire that on one of the ships was the famous Luke Skywalker, and everyone wanted to be there to see the Jedi Master and his entourage of…whoever…

Slowly, the seconds ticked by, and finally, the door to what appeared to be the lead ship opened.

And…

_Luke._

Older. Sadder. Wiser. But something else.

Hopeful.

And it was that hope that Leia clung onto as she walked to meet her brother, his eyes the same blue she always remembered. And it was truly then that she knew everything was okay. That Luke was still Luke and not a corrupted, lost version of himself.

Then, without any words spoken, they clasped arms and communicated silently all the heartache and hurt of the past several years. The private pain that each of them had experienced.

But there was also joy.

And some of the things that seemed wrong in the galaxy suddenly felt a little right.

Taking a step back, Luke said, "Hello, sister."

Leia smiled. “Hello, Luke. I see you’ve brought something of a party with you. Five ships? Three of them belonging to the First Order! How in the galaxy did you acquire them?”

Luke grinned. “Long story,” he answered. “And I’m just as curious to hear about everything you’ve got going on here,” he waved his arms to indicate their surroundings. “Endor, Leia? I don’t know when I last imagined myself coming back to this place.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Rey**

For Rey, there was only one way to describe Ilum: Cold. And maybe, desolate. As she trudged behind Kylo Ren on a path of his design on the planet’s snow-covered surface, as she had been doing for the past hour since they had left the safety and warmth of the _Millennium Falcon_ , she gazed forlornly at the bleak surroundings. The world might have been pretty once, a wonderland of ice and snow, but now all the young woman saw by the light of the stars above was an unforgiving wasteland of craters and rough, torn-up terrain.

Before they had departed the _Falcon_ , Ren had explained a little more about Ilum’s past…

 _“After the fall of the Jedi, the Empire came in and bled the world dry – harvesting as many of the kyber crystals the planet was renowned for as they could find,"_ he had said, his face smooth and expressionless – as if to give off an air indifference, but his voice, thick with emotion, told a different tale.

 _“But why?”_ Rey had asked, curiosity getting the better of her as usual. _“What use were kyber crystals to the Empire? I thought only Force-users could tap into their true power.”_

Ren had looked at her then, and she had felt suddenly very aware of how lacking her education had been about a great deal of things in the galaxy. Instead of saying anything biting, though, like she was expecting, he said rather grimly, _“There are other uses for kyber crystals besides lightsabers. Remember the Death Star?”_

And she did remember the Death Star. That was the weapon used to destroy Alderaan, the home planet, as she came to learn, of Leia.

His mother.

Suddenly, Rey found her eyes fixed on Kylo Ren’s back. He had swathed himself in black as usual. How he had managed to find the appropriate arctic gear only in black for himself from the _Falcon’s_ slim selection she had no idea. But it suited him; she couldn’t imagine him in any other color at this point.

And the helmet had returned.

She didn’t know how she felt about that, but she supposed it didn’t matter. What did matter was that they safely and successfully found their way to the old Jedi Temple Ren believed was located somewhere in the nearby area. How he even had any idea where to look to begin with was another question altogether, and one Rey couldn’t help but be curious about…

Suddenly, she made a decision.

Concentrating on the young man in front of her once more, she felt the power of the Force swell inside of her. Drawing on that feeling, she let it flow throughout herself, and then, in growing familiarity, cast it out. Reaching…

And abruptly hit something akin to a wall.

Not perturbed however, she continued to brush against the barrier, searching, hoping, waiting…

Suddenly, Ren stopped walking and turned sharply around to face her. “What are you doing?!” he demanded, his voice cold and electronic.

Surprised, Rey jerked her body awkwardly, causing her to lose her footing, and before she could stop herself, stumbled to the ground.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo watched the girl’s knees hit the hard, snow-covered earth and felt his foot take an automatic step forward in her direction, his hand slightly raised as if to…

Suddenly, the girl ripped off the protective cover over her face that he had instructed her to wear. “I’m sorry,” she said, sounding it, her cheeks a rosy pink. “I – I just wanted to talk to you.”

Kylo regarded her. She really shouldn’t have her bare skin exposed to the elements. It was too cold. Still, he was interested in knowing what she meant.

“You wanted to talk to me by attempting to rifle through my thoughts?” he said.

She made a strange strangled sound then, as if what he was suggesting was ironic to her in some way, but perhaps thought better of saying anything, and instead clambered to her feet. Kylo had a feeling he knew what she might be thinking about, and felt the blood drain out of his face.

“No,” she eventually replied, her voice high and strained. “I just thought that maybe with it being cold that…I don’t know…oh…oh…just nevermind!” And she stomped in the snow around him, face still uncovered.

Almost reflexively, Kylo reached his hand out and swung her back around to him, suddenly understanding what she was trying to say…or suggest. The girl never ceased to amaze him.

She wanted to talk through their link. To him, the man she accused of kidnapping her.

“Cover your face back up,” he said. “You’ll get frostbite in no time in these conditions.”

She said nothing, but extricated her arm from his grasp. Once that was accomplished, she turned away from him and began walking away, her slender legs cutting tracks into the snow.

In a few strides, Kylo easily outpaced her and blocked her path.

“Stop,” he said. “You don’t know where you’re going. And you need to cover your face!”

She glared at him a few moments, then growled, “Why do you care?!” before once again stepping around him.

Kylo stared at her back. Why did he care so much? What _did_ it matter to him if her face froze?

It didn’t.

_It did._

He took a few deep breaths, then slowly felt the tension he had begun to feel building up inside of him ebb away.

Then, he reached out…

…to her.

Immediately, the girl whipped around to face him, her lips slightly parted showing her astonishment.

“Cover up your face,” he said once more, but this time not out loud.

A moment passed. And then another.

Then, with some hesitation, the girl lifted her hands to her face, and when she pulled them away Kylo saw she had done as he asked.

He walked over by her, and let a heartbeat or two pass as he gazed unabashedly at her, before tramping past to the lead position once more.

When he knew she had fallen in position again behind him, he said, “I’m using the Force to know where I’m going.” He was silent for a few moments, then added, “You could too. Stop thinking about how cold it is, and let that feeling inside of you guide you. When it comes time for you to find your kyber crystal, it is that feeling that will show you the way.” 

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey gazed in wonder. Before her loomed tall, ice-covered mountains, the likes of which she had never seen before. Their impressive, towering might was such an abrupt change from the rest of the landscape she had become accustomed to since her arrival on Ilum that it gave her pause. Even in a world wrecked by devastation, there was still beauty to be found. 

Suddenly, her eyes drifted to the dark form of Kylo Ren, and she lost herself in her own thoughts for awhile…

Perhaps a few minutes or a few hours later, she found herself standing side by side with the young man in front of a sheer wall of rock and ice, somehow different from the rest of the surrounding landforms.

Or maybe it was just the Force telling her so.

“The temple?” she asked Ren through their link.

“Possibly,” he said, looking the place up and down. He walked a little closer, then stopped. “According to a file I read on Ilum in the archives of the Empire, shortly after the rise of the Emperor, the Imperial Army sealed the temple’s entrance so none could enter it.”

Rey looked at him, confused. “Why, though? If they were hunting kyber crystals, why would they wish to lock off the one most likely place they might find them?”

Ren shrugged. “Maybe they didn’t know there were any kyber crystals there. Or maybe they just wanted to keep any surviving Jedi out. Who knows?”

“Do _you_ think there are any kyber crystals in the temple?” Rey asked.

Ren was silent, his face turned to the rock face.

_Well, did he?_

“Yes,” he finally answered.

“Why?”

“Because Skywalker told me once long ago.” And without another word, he walked away from her, closer to the mysterious precipice. As Rey watched him, he ran his hands over the mountainous wall, letting, as she knew now, the Force guide him. Perhaps to the entrance of the old temple.

The Force…it was so natural to him. And he was so powerful with it. She wondered what it had been like for him, growing up, having such abilities from the time he was very young. So different from everyone else.

How special he was…

Rey shuddered. Thinking about Kylo Ren’s childhood, all of a sudden, seemed rather frightening. So many unanswered questions there, and some of them not good – not good at all. And obviously very painful for him.

Painful for others as well. Luke, Leia, even herself…

The image of the young, dark haired boy with haunted eyes from a couple nights ago suddenly began to form in her head. Nothing like the child she saw in the memories on the _Millennium Falcon._

“Hey!” Ren shouted out loud. “I – I think I might have found something!”

Rey shook away the face of the sad little boy and immediately dashed over to where Ren now stood in front of some area on the rock face that appeared smoother than the rest – almost out of place.

“You think it’s the seal?” Rey communicated through their link.

Ren lifted his hand to his belt and unclipped his lightsaber. “Let’s find out,” he said, and, igniting the blade, rammed it to the hilt into the solid mass. The area around the weapon immediately melted upon contact.

“Plasteel,” he muttered through his helmet, pulling his lightsaber free. “Destructible, but this,” and he knocked his hand up against the surface, “is thick. Too much for a lightsaber alone to break through. Luckily, though,” he added, reaching into a satchel bag he had equipped himself with before leaving the _Falcon_ , “I found this on the ship,” and he produced a small, spherical device.

Rey’s eyes widened. “A detonator?”

“Yes, and probably a leftover from the batch you and your friends used to help blow up Starkiller,” he replied without any trace of malice or blame.

Rey eyed the young man at this statement, mentally making a note of his lack of caring about the superweapon being destroyed.

“Whatever its purpose was supposed to be,” he continued, “we can use it to help us now.”

Attaching the explosive device near to where he had burned a hole with his lightsaber, he grabbed Rey’s arm and began to pull her away from the area.

“How do you know this will work the way you want it to?” she asked, stretching her legs some to keep up with his longer gait, and forcing herself to ignore the fact that he was leading her around like a child. “It could potentially blow _everything_ to smithereens!”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” he said, dragging her behind a large boulder jutting up out of the ground. “Do you have any better ideas?”

Rey was silent. She had nothing to add to the discussion, only concerns, and she was pretty sure he didn’t want to hear them. This whole venture, after all, was his doing. She was just along for the ride so far.

At least she was learning some interesting pieces of history she hadn’t known before. Not to mention practicing her Force abilities in new and exciting ways. And then there was the whole prospect of finding a kyber crystal and making a lightsaber…

Suddenly, she felt her pulse begin to race and glanced at the young man beside her, who was now fiddling with a small remote.

Had all of that been possible because of him?! The one she had once called _“a creature in a mask…”_

“Head down!” Ren exclaimed, abruptly grabbing her and forcing her down to the ground, his arm slung over the back of her neck. Rey didn’t even have time to react to this as a moment later a loud explosion rocked the nearby vicinity, shaking the ground and sending rocks and debris of all sizes flying everywhere. Thankfully, nothing anywhere near them.

When everything had settled, and the only things still left floating in the air were dust and snow, Ren leapt to his feet, pulling Rey along with him. As they emerged from behind the boulder, Rey was unsurprised to see large pieces of rocks, ice shards, and plasteel littering the ground.

No Jedi temple, however.

She turned to Kylo Ren. “Now what?” she asked.

He raised his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, sent a sizable ice chunk flying a hundred feet away. “Now we clean up,” he said, “and see what’s underneath all this mess.” 

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo watched the girl out of the corner of his eye lift her hand in imitation of his. She had never done anything yet like this - move large objects with the Force. She really had no idea what she was doing. But she wanted to try, though. He could feel her determination.

He suddenly remembered back to Starkiller, when they had been locked in battle as the world collapsed around them. He had offered then to teach her, but she had declined his offer in a most statement-making kind of way. And now…

Now here she was. Ready to learn.

Even if it was from him.

And he was really beginning to believe it was all meant to be…

“Concentrate,” he instructed her. “Focus on the task you want to perform and let the Force flow through you. Feel its power.”

Kylo, himself, did the same. With his arm outstretched, he allowed the power deep inside of him to once again spread throughout his whole body. Strengthening him. Empowering him. Literally making him ready to move mountains.

Then…

Abruptly, the land began to shake underneath his feet, and a great rumbling from the mountain had him and the girl scrambling away.

But the tremor ended as soon as it had begun.

And when the dust and snow cleared, Kylo felt his limbs suddenly go weak in wonder, his eyes not quite believing what was right in front of him.

Somehow, he and the girl had inadvertently…or perhaps not…found the entrance to the temple. 

* * *

 

**Rey**

They did it. Her and Ren. She didn’t quite know how. Force related most likely. But they had done it. They had opened the gate to the lost Jedi Temple of Ilum.

She felt…she felt…

Exhilerated. Happy. Triumphant.

She glanced over at Ren.

She suddenly felt shy.

He made no note of her emotions, though, but rather, kind of ignored her as he stomped his way to the newly opened gate, leaving the young woman to hastily follow after him.

And into the dark.

Seconds later, Ren switched on a flashlight and immediately light flooded forth, illuminating a high ceilinged chamber the likes of which Rey had never seen before. And it was old. Very old. Boasting of a craftsmanship the galaxy had not seen in many a century.

And the history of the place. Rey could practically feel the presence of the hundreds upon thousands of Jedi who had walked in that very room, come to search for the very same thing as her. And she tried to imagine them, all of them, force users just like her.

For some odd reason, it brought a smile to her face.

She glanced over at Kylo Ren to see what his reaction was, but she found him with his face lifted toward the ceiling. She followed the direction he was staring and her jaw dropped.

Pulling her face covering off, she turned to Ren and said, “Is that a…”

“Kyber crystal?” he finished her question, cutting her off. “Yes.” He removed his helmet and tucked it against his side. “How it ever survived the rampaging destruction of the Imperial Army I don’t know. But it’s lucky for us it did, because we need it to continue our quest.”

“How so?” Rey asked.

He looked at her with a rather level stare then and Rey felt her face grow flush. She really wished she would stop doing that whenever he looked at her in a certain way. It was becoming a bit annoying.

A heartbeat later, he replied, “You’ll see when the sun comes up.”

Rey turned her eyes away from his intent gaze and once again focused on the large kyber crystal suspended way up above. “And how long until then?” she asked.

“Three days.”

Rey snapped her eyes back to him. “What do you mean three days?!”

“According to some calculations I’ve been doing, it will be three days until the next sunrise,” he replied, very matter-of-fact. “The sun only rises once every seventeen days here.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Finn**

Along with the rest of the Resistance, Finn had made his way out to the ship landing area when word of Luke Skywalker’s imminent arrival spread throughout the base. But, unlike all the others who had crowded as close as they could to the action, the young man kept a distance. It wasn’t for lack of not feeling comfortable around the others – he spotted Poe and a few other pilots he had come to be acquainted with during his short time at the base, and knew they would welcome his presence no questions asked – but he just didn’t feel up to it.

He hurt.

His body did.

Spinal injuries tended to have that effect, even after several bacta treatments, and he wasn’t sure if the pain would ever truly go away. Certainly not the memory of it.

So he held back.

Finding a bench and easing himself onto it, he observed the five newly arrived space crafts. One of them he recognized immediately and his stomach twisted a little.

Kylo Ren’s shuttle.

What was Luke Skywalker doing with that particular ship?! What had happened at Ahch-To? Was Rey okay? His eyes quickly skimmed the vessels, but he saw no sign of his friend. His brain then instantly began jumping to the worst possible conclusions.

What if Rey had been hurt? What if Kylo Ren had taken her prisoner? What if she was now in the hands of the First Order? What if she was…

Dead?

Finn felt his heart begin to pound in his chest at an alarming rate. Not good. His body couldn’t handle any more stress. He needed to calm down and stop thinking the absolute worst. Dr. Kalonia had said…

Suddenly, he saw Chewbacca, and the sight of the tall, furry Wookie brought a welcome flood of relief rushing through his body.

Chewbacca! He was alive! That was good. That meant –

Finn abruptly scrunched his forehead up in confusion.

Walking behind the Wookie were several darkly clad, masked individuals. Who were they? And standing in-between all of them were a group of…

Stormtroopers?!

Finn did a double-take. Just what had gone on at Ahch-To?

He turned his attention to General Organa and was surprised to find her heading in his direction with a gray-haired, bearded gentleman – whom Finn could only assume to be her brother, Luke Skywalker.

“…and this is Finn, Rey's friend,” General Organa said with a warm smile on her face. “Finn, this is my brother, Luke.” 

"Nice to meet you, Master Skywalker," Finn said.

Luke Skywalker said nothing, but gave Finn a long, appraising stare. After several moments of silence, the Jedi Master said, “You’re the former Stormtrooper?”

Finn’s eyes darted from the Jedi to the Stormtroopers over by Chewie and back again. “Y-yes, sir,” he replied. “FN-2187. That is – was – my…” he didn’t finish the sentence; he suddenly felt rather embarrassed speaking about his past in front of the older man.

“Your identification number?” Skywalker finished for him. Finn just nodded, then was surprised a moment later when the Jedi suddenly stuck his hand out to him. “Glad to have you here, Finn,” he said. “Hopefully we can talk some more soon.”

Finn stared at the proffered hand, then hesitantly stretched his own out. “Thank you, sir. And yes, sir. That would be good, sir.”

The General and her brother made to move on, but Finn still had not seen nor heard anything about Rey, and he knew this was his chance to find out about his friend first hand. “Master Skywalker, sir,” he said. “Where’s Rey?”

The Skywalker siblings looked at each other, and Finn felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

When an answer finally came, it was General Organa who gave it, an uneven sound to her voice. “My brother is tired, Finn. Perhaps questions could wait until later?”

It wasn’t an answer to his question, but it was all he was going to get for now, he knew, so Finn just nodded his head and let the issue pass for the time being. It didn’t mean he stopped thinking about it, though, as he watched Chewbacca leading his group of Stormtroopers along. 

* * *

 

**Leia**

Leia watched the steam rise from a hissing tea kettle and hurried to turn the stove off; out of the corner of her eye, she observed her brother staring solemnly at an old family holograph of her, Han, and Ben – one that, despite everything that had happened recently, she couldn’t bring herself to put away. She didn’t think she ever would. That was her family. For better or for worse. She’d never let go of them.

Pouring herself and Luke some cups of hot tea, she swallowed back the lump that was beginning to form in the back of her throat, and carried the drinks as well as some buttered toast on a tray to the small table she used for eating in her private quarters on the days when she decided she didn’t want to partake of the mess’ offerings, which, if truth be told, was becoming more and more frequently.

Or perhaps it was she just liked the peace and quiet of her own bedroom. No one to ask her probing questions or give her sad, pitying stares…

“Leia.”

Leia looked up at the sound of her name and found Luke’s eyes now trained on her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and she instantly knew what he was talking about. If there was one person she knew would truly feel sincere remorse about what happened between her husband and son, it was Luke.

Nodding her head, she slid down in the chair opposite her brother and casually picked up her teacup. She stared at the drink for several seconds, then took a slow, careful sip. When she set the cup back in its saucer, she took a deep breath and turned her attention back to her twin.

And she asked the question that only he would possibly understand.

“Why, though, Luke? Why did he do it? Why did Ben kill his father?”

Luke sighed and shook his head ever so slightly. “I think you already know the answer to that, Leia.”

“Snoke?”

“Yes.”

“I just-” Suddenly, tears that the General had been refusing to shed for days let loose and she couldn’t stop the emotion from filling her voice as she said, “I don’t understand, Luke. I just don’t understand. _Why?!_ ”

“I’m not entirely sure myself,” her brother replied, his eyes lowered. “But I think there’s a lot going on that even we don’t know.”

“But you think whatever it is involves Rey?” Leia asked.

Luke simply nodded.

Leia slouched a little in her seat and stared absently at the plate of untouched toast, an image of Rey suddenly surfacing in her mind’s eye. A girl she had only gotten to know for a short time, but who had made an impression on her. And, apparently, her son.

“So Ben has Rey with him as well as the Millennium Falcon?” Leia said, more a statement than a question since that was a piece of information Luke had shared with her very shortly after their reunion.

“Yes,” Luke nodded.

“Any idea what his plans are?”

Luke took a sip of tea, then replied, “Not a clue.”

“And you don’t believe they include the First Order?” Leia asked, unable to stop the flow of questions. Surely her brother couldn’t expect any less from her. It had been years since their last conversation!

“No.”

“And now Chewbacca is in charge of the Knights of Ren and you’re the proud proprietor of three First Order ships?” Leia folded her arms and smirked.

Luke smiled a little too then. “I guess you could say that.”

A comfortable silence fell between them then and Leia savored it, but it wasn’t to last as she abruptly remembered something and she sighed. “Finn. The young man I introduced you to earlier. You’re going to need to talk to him. Ben…” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, not relishing what she was about to say, then focused her attention once again on her brother. “Ben hurt him pretty terribly. And he’s concerned about Rey. This news about Ben taking her. He’s probably not going to take it well.”

Luke said nothing right away and Leia could only imagine what was going through his brain; her brother had a reflective nature about him. Ben was the same way. Or at least he had been. She pondered where such a quality came from in their family?

The queen? Her and Luke’s mother.

“It’s the Force, Leia,” Luke said, interrupting her train of thought. “I know it. I can _feel_ it.” He paused a moment, then added, “Ben. Rey. The Force is working with them somehow. And this…”

Suddenly, he reached into a bag he had brought with him from the ship and pulled out a silver, cylindrical object. Leia’s eyes widened. “Your lightsaber? I thought Rey had that?”

Luke laid the lightsaber on the table between them. “She did. But, long story short, it called to me on Ahch-To. It. The lightsaber. The Force. And now I have it until…something happens…”

“With Ben?”

“I don’t know. Possibly.”

Leia eyed the lightsaber, then, her voice a whisper, said, “Is it strange of me that even after everything that has happened I still want him back?”

Luke reached across the table, took her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You’re his mother, Leia. No, it’s not strange.” 

The General nodded and a silence filled the room once more; Luke released her hand and reached once more for his bag.

Leia watched him, and returning to an earlier subject, said, “Promise me, Luke. That young man. Finn. Promise me you’ll talk to him.”

“I will,” Luke said, “but first, there’s something I need you to see. Something I found on Ben’s shuttle.”

Leia said nothing, but watched in curiosity as her brother slowly pulled a large, oddly shaped object from his bag. At first, she couldn’t make out what the item was, but as her focus sharpened, her eyes widened and her body jolted in shock.

It was a memory.

It was her reality.

It was something she hadn’t laid eyes on in thirty years or so, yet saw everyday.

What had Ben been doing with…

 _…Darth Vader’s helmet?!_

* * *

 

**Finn**

Rey had been kidnapped!

Finn paced the length of his small bedroom. Anxious, he balled one of his hands into a fist and ground it into the other hand, his knuckles popping. 

Okay, so “kidnapped” hadn’t been the word Master Skywalker had used when he finally talked to the young man a short while ago, but it was close enough. What else could one call it?

Suddenly, the walls of his tiny bedroom felt like they were closing in on him and he felt the need to get up and do something.

Anything.

Even if he physically wasn’t ready to yet.

Like fight the scum bag, Kylo Ren, for one.

General Organa’s son be damned, the guy was a murderer as well as a kidnapper.

Throwing open the door to his quarters, he marched out of the room and down the corridor. On his way he passed the mess hall and saw Poe and a group of his buddies playing a game of cards. The pilot signaled for him to join them, but Finn waved them off. He didn’t want to play games, he wanted to find Rey.

And to do that, he needed to get more answers from Skywalker.

Suddenly, the old Jedi’s voice drifted into his thoughts.

_“We must trust in the Force, Finn.”_

The Force?!

What good was the Force when evil people like Kylo Ren were empowered by it?

Mindless of where he was walking and what he was really doing, the young man suddenly felt his foot catch on something, and before he could stop himself, went crashing down onto the hard ground, an agonizing pain immediately exploding from his back.

 _No,_ he thought. _No, no, no. It hurt. Oh galaxy, it hurt._

Tears began to well up in his eyes and a scream ready to be let loose burned at the back of his throat. But he neither cried nor screamed.

He just lied there.

Several moments passed. Perhaps several minutes. Finn didn’t know. He had lost track as he stared at the gray concrete an inch away from his face.

He suddenly felt very useless. Because he was injured. Because Rey had been kidnapped. Because he was lying on the cold ground…

He didn’t want to feel like that.

He wanted to be up. Moving. Taking action. Helping save Rey. Helping save the galaxy. Making Skywalker listen to him!

Taking a deep breath, he tested pushing himself off the ground with his hands. It hurt, but everything seemed to be moving alright. Nothing appeared broken. Maneuvering himself to a sitting position, he leaned back against a nearby wall, took several deep breaths of air, and closed his eyes.

Maybe a minute later, a familiar voice made a loud growling sound, and snapping his eyes open, Finn looked up to see Chewbacca standing over him, a look of genuine concern in his blue eyes.

Not sure exactly what the Wookie said, but assuming it had something to do with his well-being, Finn waved his hand and said, “I’m fine, Chewie. I’m just…thinking.”

Chewbacca barked something else, but Finn shook his head not understanding.

Suddenly, two more figures appeared from behind Chewie. General Organa’s protocol droid, C3PO, and a small white and blue astromech droid whom he had never seen before.

“Oh my, Mister Finn,” C3PO exclaimed. “Whatever are you doing down there? Chewbacca,” the droid looked at the tall Wookie beside him, “why are you not helping Mister Finn?”

Chewbacca made a loud rumbling noise and C3PO turned his attention back to Finn. “Chewbacca says you are thinking. What are you thinking about?”

Finn rested his head against the wall behind him.

“Rey,” he replied.

When he didn’t add anything else to his response, Threepio said, “Yes, yes, of course you are. But do not worry. Master Luke will sort everything out. He always does. You should trust him.”

Finn sat straight up. “Trust him!” he exclaimed. “I don’t even know him.” And he didn’t. He only knew what other people said about the man and he wasn’t sure if that was enough to go by anymore. Certainly not if letting murderous men run off with innocent girls was an okay thing with him.

“Well, I trust Master Luke,” C3PO said rather pompously. “And so do Chewbacca and R2D2.” Chewie growled then as if in agreement, and the little astromech droid let out a series of beeps.

Finn shook his head. “You all make it sound so simple. Like everything is just going to come together in some perfect way. But it’s not. That’s not how life works. Look at what happened to Han for example.” 

Chewie let out a sad sighing sound and Threepio just stared rather perplexed at Finn.

Several moments passed.

Then, C3PO said, “Master Luke has never let us down, and I am not going to start believing now that he will.” He turned to the small astromech droid. “Come, Artoo. Let’s go see if we may be of any service anywhere.”

R2D2 made no immediate move to follow, and Finn felt that whatever the small droid had for an eye, he was suddenly focusing it right on him; embarrassed, it made the young man squirm a little.

Moments later, the little droid beeped once, then turned around and rolled away, leaving C3PO to follow after him, shouting, “Artoo, wait! Slow down!”

It wasn’t long after the droids’ departure that Chewbacca also made his, patting Finn affectionately on the head, before leaving the young man once again alone.

Finn stared at the now empty space around him.

He didn’t like it.

Being alone.

Growing up in the First Order, there was no such thing as being lonely. Stormtroopers didn’t know the meaning of the word, at least not in a physical sense.

Stormtroopers…

Suddenly, Finn scrambled to his feet; his back protesting some at the movement.

Stormtroopers! He had completely forgotten about the captive ones Skywalker had brought to the base with him today. Abruptly, he turned his feet in the direction of the make-shift detainment center the Resistance had set up to hold any prisoners they captured. 

It didn’t take him long to get to his destination, nor much to convince the guards to let him see the new arrivals, and before he knew it, the young man found himself standing mere feet from his former peers. None of whom seemed that thrilled to see him.

“Traitor!” one woman called to him, clearly recognizing him, although Finn could not say the same for her.

“Rebel scum!” another shouted, a man this time whom Finn thought he might have seen before.

“The First Order will annihilate you and this filthy Resistance,” yet another voice joined in the fray.

Finn just let them say their fill of insults. He couldn’t say he expected any less. He figured the First Order had probably plastered his face all across the galaxy by this point, labeling him a renegade and offering some kind of bounty for his capture. What he wondered, though, was what they – the Stormtroopers – really knew about his escape? Did they think he was just some non-conforming oddball who cracked one day, which is what he was sure the First Order probably wanted them to believe, or did they maybe wonder if there was more to the story?

That’s what he wanted to find out.

When the group finally began to wind down from their name-calling, he spoke, “I’d watch what you say around here. The Resistance doesn’t take kindly to First Order sympathizers-”

“I don’t care one lick about this stupid Resistance,” the first woman to speak declared. “And you will die along with them when the First Order finally shuts down the despicable operation.”

Finn ignored the woman’s scathing comment as he picked up what he was saying before she cut him off, “But the Resistance will forgive you, though. Especially considering the fact that you had no control over the state of your origins in the First Order.” He paused, then said, “You can make a choice. I did.”

The woman made a hissing sound. “You are a traitor!”

Finn shook his head. “Only in the eyes of the First Order. Not to all the galaxy. To some I’m…” The young man paused again. _How did_ the rest of the galaxy view him? A hero? A rebel?

Free?

Free. He liked that. It gave him a satisfying feeling inside that stretched from his head to his toes. And not only that, but it gave him hope. Hope? Wasn’t that what people around the Resistance were always going on about?

Hope for the galaxy.

Finally, he finished, saying, “I’m free.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Free to die.”

“No,” Finn said, “free to live.”

Having nothing more to say, he began to turn away. As he did so, he heard a voice, a man, make a coughing sound, followed by, “Who – who was that old man? The old man who brought us here?”

Finn stopped.

A silence stretched out between him and the Stormtroopers. The young man could feel his heart beating steadily in his chest.

Eventually, he said, “That was Luke Skywalker.”

Instantly, a low murmur of noise erupted from the captive troopers. Despite their sheltered upbringing, even they were familiar with the Skywalker name, even if the organization they served under associated it with disorder and evil.

“He will die,” the vocal woman said. “He will die like the rest of this pitiful Resistance.”

Finn didn’t know what to say to that, as he himself was unsure about Skywalker, but then, suddenly, C3PO’s voice echoed in his thoughts…

_“Master Luke has never let us down.”_

The droid had been so sure. So trusting. Despite everything he probably knew about what had happened at Ahch-To. And who knew how many things before that. He didn’t doubt Master Luke.

Finn anxiously rubbed his head.

Was he being too hard on Skywalker? Were Threepio, R2D2, Chewbacca, General Organa – were they all right? Was Skywalker someone he could trust?

Suddenly, he thought about Rey. He wasn’t happy about that situation still, and he planned on mentioning it again to Skywalker, General Organa, Poe – anyone who would listen, but…

He would give the Jedi Master a chance to start with.

“No,” Finn finally replied. “It’s the First Order that will die.”

And this time, he really did walk away.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hux**

“General Hux, sir, you wished to see me?”

Hux snapped his eyes from his datapad to the tall, looming figure of Captain Phasma, whom he had summoned to his office to discuss the status of a certain missing individual. For a moment, the young general found his eyes entranced by the officer’s gleaming chromium armor – salvaged, as he understood, from a yacht of the late emperor, before coming to rest on the Captain’s ever helmeted face.

“Yes, Captain,” he said. “I wanted to know if there have been any updates or leads on Kylo Ren?”

“No, sir, none,” Phasma replied, her voice flat; Hux felt his mouth twitch just a little at this news. “We have almost completed a sweep of the Core Worlds,” the officer continued, “and have no indication to believe, based off communications with any of our contacts and associates, that Kylo Ren has been on any of those planets.”

Hux inhaled deeply, then, leaning forward, rested his elbows on his desk, and said, “Tell them to remain on alert. If they hear or see anything…anything at all…suspicious…out of the ordinary…tell them to notify us at once.”

“Understood, sir,” Phasma said.

Hux waited for the tall officer to say more, and when she didn’t, he said, “And have your troops continue their ground searches and investigations. Sometimes the regular citizens have seen things that our people have not.”

Phasma nodded. “Would you like us to continue on to the Colonies and Inner Rim next?”

“Yes,” the General replied. “I want every single planet in this galaxy searched if that is what it takes to find Ren.”

“Sir,” Phasma saluted; Hux returned the gesture, then watched as the Captain marched out of his office. Once she was gone, he swiveled in his seat to face the star strewn sky through the room’s window. Wrapping his fingers tightly around the arms of his chair, he stared fixedly at the sparkling firmament. 

_Somewhere out there you’re hiding, Ren,_ he thought, _and I’m going to find you. Find you and crush you! No Force will save you then._

A heartbeat later, the General’s mouth formed into what could only be described as a smile.

* * *

 

**Rey**

“Hey,” a voice called. “Hey, wake up! The sun…it’s about to rise!”

Rey felt someone shaking her. Not roughly, but with a definite sense of urgency. Slowly, she cracked her eyes open and saw a darkly clad figure hovering over her.

Kylo Ren. Helmetless, as he had been for the last seventy-two hours

“The sun?” she said sleepily.

“Yes,” the young man replied. Then, smoothly, he rocked back on his feet and propelled himself to a standing position. “It’s time to get ready to go.”

Rey stared up at him. “I’ve been ready to go for the past three days,” she quipped.

Ren didn’t say anything, but Rey could have sworn she saw for just a second his lips twist into some sort of amused quirk before he turned his back on her and walked away.

In the dim light of the temple, she watched him go. Watched as she had been watching him since their stay in the old Jedi holy place had begun. Probably, like he had been watching her. Each trying to figure the other out.

A rather daunting task.

Was such a thing even possible? For anyone? Did Han and Leia know everything there was about the other? Did her own parents?

She shook her head. Why was she comparing her and Ren to established couples? They weren’t anything like that. Not at all. He was…

He was…

Well, she wasn’t afraid of him, whatever he was. Not anymore. She still had a lot of questions – questions that she was going to make him give her answers to at some point if he wanted her to help him in any way, but she was willing to bide her time until then.

He had a story. A reason, or reasons, for why things were the way they were for him, and as much as she would have completely rejected being curious about such an idea two weeks ago, now, strangely, she found herself becoming accepting of the matter.

She thought over the last few days with him, stuck in the temple. It hadn’t been too bad. Not especially exciting. But not terrible either.

They had played a lot of cards. Usually a game called Sabacc that he had taught her and which she rather enjoyed although she would never tell him so. Why Kylo Ren carried a deck of cards around with him, however, she had no clue, but she was glad in this instance that he did. The game had also been good in helping her practice her Force abilities by using mind blocks against him, as their link made it very easy to cheat as she discovered. 

Not that Ren had been the only one to try…

And speaking of her Force powers, Ren had offered to practice some basic mental exercises with her. Mostly they were ones concerning concentration and meditation, but she was fine with that. She had to start somewhere. The whole Force powers thing was new to her, and Kylo Ren - unsure feelings about him aside - was proving quite an adept and knowledgeable presence.

And surprisingly normal…

Or, at least as normal as a brooding guy like him could be.

He was still rather standoffish.

Rey stretched her arms and legs and stood up. _Had she really just referred to Kylo Ren as ‘normal’?_

What would Finn think!?

She rubbed her eyes. She needed to get to the bottom of this Kylo Ren mystery before there was no going back for her.

Moments later, she stood next to the aforementioned young man, and watched with him in wonder as sunlight finally poured its way into the great temple chamber. As its beams touched the large kyber crystal hanging from the ceiling, Rey watched in surprise and interest as a nearby giant wall of ice, which she hadn’t really given much thought to, it being an ice world and all, suddenly began to melt. And, in doing so, revealed the entrance to a cave.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo stood in wonder for a moment.

Before him lie the entrance to the great caves of Ilum, and he was presumably one of the first people since the Jedi themselves to see it. A sudden, strange feeling of pride swelled within him at such a realization, and he barely contained the smile that his lips threatened to curve into.

In hindsight, he had not really needed to wait for the sunrise to melt the ice wall; he probably could have cut through it with his lightsaber, but he had not known with complete certainty what was going to happen when the sun rose, so it was best that he erred on the side of caution. And in doing so, witnessed a rather amazing Force-related event.

All feelings of elation were dashed, however, when he remembered the damage that had been done to the ice planet and he felt his hands curl into fists. It was a true miracle that what lie before him had even survived such destruction.

But he didn’t have time to waste dwelling on what was.

“Come on,” he told the girl who still looked rather awestruck by the event that had just happened. “Let’s go find your kyber crystal.”

“But I don’t feel anything yet,” the girl replied. By ‘feel’ she was referring to the Force, which was how, Kylo explained at one point during the last three days, she was going to find her crystal, just like how they seemed to be accomplishing everything else during their travels together.

“You will,” he said, and began to head into the cave. 

At least he hoped he was right. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure – he had never done anything like this before, after all, but he trusted the Force – trusted it as he had never trusted anything else in his life.

No one else. At least, not in a long time.

He wondered if it would always be so…

“Hey,” the girl suddenly called, running up beside him. “Would you please _wait_ for me?!”

Kylo stared at the girl out of the corner of his eye; she looked irritated, and for some odd reason, he took a small amount of pleasure in this.

“We don’t have time to wait around,” he replied without slowing his stride. “You know this.”

“But you don’t even know where to go!” the girl stated.

“I don’t,” Kylo agreed, “but we’re not going to get anywhere by just standing at the entrance all day.”

The girl’s face was beginning to turn pink. “Do you always have to be so…so…so…” Tense, Kylo waited for her to finish what she was going to say. He prepared himself for an insult, but was surprised when she merely said, “So smart?”

Feeling his shoulders relax, he simply said, “Yes,” and hurried along even faster, afraid to let the girl see how red his own face had become at her compliment. Because it was a compliment of sorts. Whether either of them would ever admit it or not.

Listening for the girl to follow, he heard her make a loud sigh, then dash up next to him. She didn’t say anything, however, and Kylo had to use every ounce of control he had to restrain himself from using their connection to try and see what she was thinking about.

And so, he walked in silence down a twisty, icy passageway, having no idea where he was going, but glad to be where he was instead of where he could be. Ilum was a place he had always thought that maybe he would go see, but over the past few years, had given up such an idea in place of ones more in line with First Order goals.

More specifically, the Supreme Leader’s goals.

But not anymore.

Not since…

He glanced at the girl who had slowed to admire a rather large stalactite hanging down from the cave’s ceiling, her eyes round in wonder, like a child’s on her birthday with all her presents laid out before her.

Suddenly, a scene from a time long ago popped into the young man’s head…

_“What is that, Daddy?” a little boy, about three years old, asked._

_A man, tall and smiling, knelt down next to the child, and observed the spot where the toddler was pointing to with his tiny, skinny fingers._

_“That’s an icicle,” the man replied, staring at a frozen spike of ice hanging from a nearby tree._

_“What’s an icicle?” the little boy questioned the man, his daddy. “Why’s it hanging there like that?”_

_The man glanced at the icicle, then at the child, a twinkle in his eye. “Well, I suppose some water that had been dripping there froze and the icicle formed.”_

_“Can I eat it?” the child asked, looking at his father very seriously._

_The man laughed then. The child liked it when he laughed. He sounded so happy._

_Eventually, the man said, “That’s a good question for your mother.”_

…

Kylo, anxious, brushed a hand through his hair, the last of the memory fading away.

He had made a choice. Good or bad. He had made it. He had to. It was the only way to move forward. And memories like that…

He just…he couldn’t think about them.

Instead he focused his attention on the shimmery, flashing ice crystals all around him, and wondered where amongst them the girl would find her kyber crystal. 

* * *

 

**Rey**

He was thinking about Han again. Rey could feel it. She didn’t have to force her way into his thoughts to know it. She could just sense it. It happened a lot when he was thinking about his past.

About Han.

She didn’t say anything, though, and she wondered how much he was able to pick up from her in that way. The young woman felt a strange shuddering sensation race through her as she pondered just how much both of them knew about the other and weren’t saying.

She exhaled a breath she didn’t know she had been holding and glanced at the cave walls around her; they were rather pretty to look at, and she felt a pang deep inside her chest that no one had been there to admire their quiet beauty in a long, long time. It was almost hard for her to believe that she was there now, strolling along passages once trod by great Jedi Knights, all in search of the same thing as her – a kyber crystal.

She wondered where she would find hers.

And that was when she felt it.

Something.

Like it was calling to her.

She reached out her hand and grabbed at the object closest to her: Kylo Ren’s arm.

“I – there’s this – feeling -” she stuttered, staring at him, her eyes wide and her heart racing.

He looked at her and she saw an understanding cross his face. She briefly wondered if, because of their link, he felt it too.

“Follow it,” he simply said.

And she did. Or, rather, they both did.

Down one passage, and then another. Slowly sometimes, if there were obstacles in their path, and other times quickly, using the icy, slippery floors to go faster. Over rocks and under icicles. Up an incline and down another.

Letting the Force be their guide.

Going, going, going…

And then…

Rey came to a halt and looked up; Ren did the same next to her.

And there, way above them on a small outcrop just big enough for two people to stand on, she saw it. A flash. A sparkle.

_A feeling._

Her kyber crystal.

 _But how was she going to get to it?_ she wondered, as she stared at the sheer rock wall surrounding it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Finn**

Taking a sip of some caf, a drink he had grown a taste for since his desertion from the First Order, Finn watched with interest as across the Resistance base tarmac Chewbacca, with the aid of C-3P0, conferred with the masked group of individuals that had arrived with the Wookie and Master Skywalker on the forest moon a few days ago.

The young man still didn’t know who the men were, and he found it kind of unnerving that they were so thoroughly covered up all the time. Like they were some kind of bounty hunters.

But Chewbacca seemed okay with them. As did Skywalker. 

At least they seemed to be.

Turning to Poe, who was working on an X-wing nearby, Finn said, “Do you know who those guys are?” He jerked his head in the direction of Chewbacca and the others. “The ones that Chewie is talking to.”

Poe picked up a rag and began to wipe at some oil on his hands, glanced at Finn, then over where he was indicating. “Don’t know much about them,” he replied. “I’ve seen them tinkering around some with those First Order ships Master Skywalker arrived with, and once or twice I saw them helping out hauling some boxes, but other than that, I can’t tell you much.”

“Yes, yes,” Finn nodded his head and waved his free hand out in front of him, “but _who_ are they? What are their names? What is their organization?”

Poe regarded his hands, which were now grease-free, then looked at Finn in a considering way. “They’re called some weird name. At least that’s what one of the guys told me who had overheard a part of a conversation General Organa had with Master Skywalker.”

“Well?” Finn said when his friend didn’t continue with any more information. “What’s the name?”

The pilot shrugged. “Like I said, something really strange: The Knights of Ren.”

Finn stared.

Several moments passed as he considered this news.

The Knights of Ren.

Ren…

Kylo Ren.

Were those men…were they somehow affiliated with _him_?!

Suddenly, Finn felt a thousand different questions beginning to form in his brain.

Were they associated in some way with the First Order? If not, how exactly were they associated with Kylo Ren? Where was Kylo Ren – besides with Rey? Why were they not with him? What was Chewie doing leading them around? Why did Skywalker bring them to Endor? Where did the First Order fit into all this? Anywhere? What about Kylo Ren – that murderer? Was he even with the First Order anymore? Why would his colleagues be hanging out with the Resistance if he was still with the First Order?

Finn rubbed at the side of his head and Poe shot him a worried look.

“You okay?” the pilot asked.

Finn blinked his eyes a couple of times as if to clear his thoughts. “No. Yes. I mean…I think I’m going to go get some more caf.” And he left without waiting for Poe to reply.

Once he was away from the tarmac, though, instead of heading toward the canteen, the young man stepped into the shade of a large, towering tree nearby, something Endor definitely had plenty of, and let his thoughts carry him away.

 _Had the whole galaxy suddenly gone crazy?_ he wondered. He just didn’t know what to think anymore.

Issues to him that had seemed to be pretty clear-cut, were turning out to be rather gray and undefined.

Like the whole Kylo Ren thing.

He didn’t like the man. In fact, it was probably safe to say he hated him. The pains his body and mind felt everyday were reason enough to justify that. Not to mention what happened to Han. But even he, who very nearly lost his own life to the wretch, could see on a certain level there was a whole lot more to the story than he initially thought.

And poor Rey seemed to be caught right in the middle of it all.

He shook his head. He just didn’t understand any of it. Maybe one day it would all become a lot clearer, but for the moment, none of it was making much sense.

What did make sense to him, though, was Stormtroopers.

And like that, he found himself on the move again, this time in the direction of the detainment center.

Upon his arrival there, though, he was greeted with nothing but a stony silence and rather empty stares.

 _Well_ , he thought, _it’s an improvement from last time._

But not much of one.

The troopers all seemed rather subdued if truth be told. Perhaps their time in captivity was starting to wear on them a little? Or maybe they were starting to realize, even if just a tiny bit, that their jailers were not the cruel monsters the First Order had taught them to believe.

The very fact that they were still alive had to tell them that. The First Order probably would have wiped its hands clean of them long ago if it had been the other way around with members of the Resistance being the captives. But not without a round of torture first.

Surely, they had to know that.

Eventually, someone spoke.

“What do you want, traitor?” the vocal woman from Finn’s previous visit sneered; she had her face half-turned away from his, but this time in the light of day, Finn could see her hair was a dark red color.

“I just came to check on you,” the young man replied, for lack of knowing how else to respond to the question.

The redhead let out a laugh. “What is there to check on?” she scoffed. “We’re still stuck in this cell, aren’t we?” She turned toward him then, a coldness to her eyes. “While you – you get to run around this miserable place like you’re something special. But you know what, you’re not. You’re nothing but a pathetic, little no-account who betrayed his people.”

Finn cringed. “My people?!” he exclaimed. “The First Order?! Nobody should be that vile organization’s people! Including all of you,” and he looked around at the whole group of Stormtroopers, dressed now in plain khaki jumpsuits, a few of whom actually returned his gaze. “The best decision of my life was the day I decided to jump ship. Literally.”

The woman shook her head and looked away. “That’s just what a traitor would say.”

Finn reached out and grabbed the bars of the cell. “No, that’s what a person who wants to make _his_ own choices would say.” He stared around at the others. “A person who doesn’t want to have every decision in his life made for him by some oppressive regime who cares nothing about his personal welfare. Who cares nothing if he lives or dies.”

The young man paused to take a breath and felt his heart thundering in his chest. As he took a moment to look about, he saw that the few pairs of eyes he had noticed watching him seconds ago, had now been joined by a few more. 

“But the Resistance,” he continued, “these people, they do care. They care about you as an individual. And they’re not here to hurt anyone…at least not intentionally. They just want to see the galaxy set to rights.” He took another breath then. “But they can’t do that as long as an organization like the First Order – an organization that believes it’s okay to murder billions of people – is allowed to continue to flourish.”

“Liar,” the redheaded woman cried, but even as she called him that, Finn could hear an uncertain sound to her voice. “It is this Resistance – this group of terrorists that brings chaos and unrest to the galaxy. The First Order is only trying to implement structure and order where there is none.”

Finn sighed. He knew where her words were coming from. And he could also see how the Resistance came across as a terrorist operation. He had, after all, shared the same point-of-view at one time. Or let himself believe he did. 

But the First Order…

It was something else altogether.

Eventually, he said, “Good guys don’t blow up five planets.”

* * *

 

**Luke**

It was quiet in the woods of Endor at night. And dark. With little natural light from the stars above able to filter through the thick curtain of gigantic trees on the moon, the forest floor was a dangerous and uncertain place with fallen logs, large rocks, and other unexpected pitfalls ready to injure or trap an unsuspecting traveler.

But not that particular night.

Not for Luke, Leia, R2-D2 and C-3P0. 

The Ewoks, one of the few native inhabitants of the land, had come with torches to light their path. A path that Luke himself had trod a long time before by himself when he was just a young man. A path he had not expected to walk again. 

And yet, there he was.

Traveling to the exact spot he had once built a funeral pyre for someone he had just barely begun to know…

A person…

Darth Vader.

His father.

In a bag at his side, the Jedi Master carried the melted, twisted helmet of the former Sith Lord, an item he believed to have burned with the rest of the redeemed Jedi’s last personal effects the final day of the Emperor’s reign.

But not so.

Somehow his nephew, Ben, had come into ownership of the helmet, and from that, Luke could only assume the worst.

Because there was something there. Something in the helmet. Something evil.

That first day when he had discovered the old belonging of his father’s in his nephew’s possessions, he had held it in his hands, stared into the charred depths of its face, and felt something. Not Vader. Not Anakin. But something else. The light was too strong in Luke for the mysterious presence to have any effect on him, but for Ben, someone who had grappled with his Force sensitivities his whole life…

Luke stared at the dancing flames the lead Ewok carried as he led them through the old forest, and sighed.

_If only he had listened…_

Glancing behind him then, he saw Leia walking resolutely forward, several small Ewoks keeping her company. She hadn’t wanted to join him on this mission at first, stating several personal reasons why she didn’t feel comfortable with the task, and Luke had understood and let her be. She and Vader had not had a good relationship with each other. Family or not. And he was not going to press the issue.

But then, at the last moment, she changed her mind. Luke didn’t ask her why, but he figured it had a lot to do with Ben. As well as the past. And putting certain things to rest that needed to be put to rest.

And so, she had come. As well as Threepio and Artoo, their trusty droids who had been with them through it all over the years, and probably always would be…

A minute or two later, Luke found himself in a small clearing that, while showing signs of new growth since the last time he had been there, he was still able to recognize it immediately, even though it had been years, as the place he had built the funeral pyre for his deceased father. It was a memory that would probably never fade away.

Turning to C-3PO, he said, “Threepio, ask a few of the Ewoks if they would help me gather wood to build a fire. A big fire.”

“Right away, Master Luke,” the droid replied, and instantly began translating the Jedi’s question to the assembled Ewoks. As Luke had hoped, the Ewoks readily agreed to lend a hand, and, in no time at all, a good amount of kindling of varying sizes was piled together in the center of the clearing.

Once the task was complete, Luke looked to Leia. “Are you ready?” he asked. “No ceremonies. No rituals. Just…an end…”

Leia sighed and nodded. She was anxious, Luke could tell, but she didn’t appear to be regretful about coming, as she said, “Maybe in some way, this will provide a little more closure…”

Luke bowed his head. “I think it will,” he replied, then added, “But it’s a job that must be done. An evil lurks in the helmet. Not Vader…not our father, but something that must be dealt with.”

“For Ben’s sake?” his sister asked.

“For the sake of everyone,” Luke replied.

Then, without preamble, he removed the helmet from his bag and laid it on the pile of gathered wood. 

Suddenly, unexpectedly, R2-D2 let out a loud beeping noise.

Luke looked at the droid and it beeped again and, for a moment, the Jedi found himself lost in memories that he didn’t have. From a time long ago, before he was born. And he briefly found himself wondering just what Artoo knew. What he had seen. _Whom_ he had known.

But…

There could be no hesitation. This was the way things had to be. And, taking a proffered torch from one of the Ewoks, he set the wood and helmet ablaze.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Deep in the ice caves of Ilum, Kylo Ren felt a strange sensation in his brain - like an unseen string that had been attached to him was suddenly severed. It didn’t pain him, but he reached his hand up to the touch the side of his head anyway.

What was that feeling?

The girl standing next to him, noticing his sudden hand movement, eyed him with concern. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

The young man shook his head. “Nothing, I think. It’s just that-” How could he possibly explain what he felt…or didn’t feel?

“What is it?” the girl prompted him.

He gazed at the sheer wall of rock that the girl and him had been appraising just a moment before, thinking, then turned to face her. “I don’t know. It’s like there was this thing…in my head…something I didn’t realize was there, but now…now it’s gone.”

The girl crinkled her brow, most likely pondering what he said, then asked, “Is that a good thing?”

“I – I think so,” he replied. Then, closing his eyes, he let the powers of the Force course through him, and it was then that he truly knew he was right.

This severing that he felt, it wasn’t the Voice. He already knew that. Had known that. This, though, it was something related.

But it was gone now, whatever it was.

And he was glad.

He glanced once more at the girl and found her staring at him.

“I think I feel it,” she said, and it was only then that Kylo realized she was reaching out to him through their connection, feeling what he was feeling. Or perhaps, not feeling. “Something _is_ different. I- ”

Abruptly, she pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, her face pale. “I wasn’t trying to intrude. I just was…You had your eyes closed…And the Force…And I didn’t really think…” 

Kylo said nothing for a moment. The truth was he really didn’t mind that she had been inside his thoughts, sensing what he was sensing. He was actually secretly pleased to have someone sharing the same experiences with him for once.

It made him not feel so…

Alone.

He took a deep breath. _Had he really just thought that?_

And…

_Yes._

Eventually, his voice thick with unintended emotion, he said, “It’s fine,” and turned his attention back to the wall. “Let’s figure out how to get up this thing.”

* * *

 

**Snoke**

In another part of the galaxy, the Supreme Leader of the First Order suddenly stumbled. He wanted to blame it on weak knees, but it wasn’t.

It was his power, or lack thereof that had caused the mishap.

Vader’s helmet was no more. He knew it. Just as he knew it was the old Jedi Master Luke Skywalker himself who had destroyed it, however he had come into possession of it.

And Kylo Ren. His control over him was truly gone. There was no connection left. Nothing. The last link in the chain had been broken. Not that it hadn’t been lying useless on the ground for days anyway…

But still, it infuriated him nonetheless. Watching – knowing everything he had worked on so tirelessly for years to accomplish was seemingly going up in smoke - he didn’t like that. 

Not at all.

Curling his hands into fists at his sides, he listened as the joints in his fingers popped and cracked with the movement. He didn’t like that either.

But…

It would be okay.

He was going to make it all okay.

 _The Skywalkers could run_ , he thought, _but they couldn’t hide forever._

And then…

The legacy…the power…the galaxy…it would all be his!


	16. Chapter 16

**Rey**

“I think we’re just going to have to climb it,” Rey announced suddenly, gazing up at the small outcropping where her kyber crystal lie nestled, waiting, in what exactly, she couldn’t tell from her current vantage point, but it was there. She could see it. She _felt_ it.

Beside her, Kylo Ren said nothing for a moment, his eyes scanning the large cave chamber, then, “I think you might be right.”

And Rey knew she was.

It would be a challenging endeavor, but the young woman didn’t see any other options for them. And really, it wasn’t so very different from some of the climbing she had to do back on Jakku when she was scavenging.

Just a little less equipped, perhaps.

She took a few steps closer to the rock wall, steeling herself for the task ahead, and heard Ren following close behind her, the sound of his footfalls growing more familiar to her with the passing of each day. And when she put her hand up against the wall to find her first place to grip it, she sensed rather than saw him doing the same thing several feet to her left.

“Ready?” she asked.

“As ready as one can be when attempting to free climb a ninety-degree wall of ice cold cave rock,” was the response.

Rey looked over at him then, but he had his head turned away from her, his attention instead riveted to the rock face which he had already begun to ascend. Entranced, she watched as he stretched his long arms and legs in an upward propelling motion, his body moving seemingly without effort. Graceful. The strong muscles he had, hidden beneath the thick, arctic clothing he wore, doing their job to aid him in his task. His thick, dark hair shiny, even in the dim lighting of the cave, falling back over his shoulders as he lifted his face toward the ceiling…

Abruptly, Rey ripped her gaze back to the space directly in front of her, her heart beating rapidly in her chest and her hands slightly shaking.

 _No,_ she thought. _Oh no, no, no, no. This is Kylo Ren, the man who hurt Finn. The man who killed his own father! ___

But even as she thought these things, the words seemed hollow to her. The intense feelings she had once harbored about them, mellowed. And in that moment, as she stood there at the base of a giant wall of rock, deep in a cave on a planet she had never heard of until just a few days ago, she realized she did not hate Kylo Ren.

Had not hated him since, well…she didn’t know.

But how could she? Had she not been inside his mind and shared his feelings, seen his past, felt his happiness, known his pain?

And what pain there had been. Still was…

“What’s the hold-up down there!?” Ren’s deep voice suddenly cut into her thoughts.

Rey blinked her eyes and stared up at the young man who was now a few yards up the face of the wall. A young man she realized earlier in the day she was not afraid of. A young man she now knew she did not hate either. 

“Sorry,” she apologized, not quite able to meet his eyes, her voice a mumble. “I was thinking…”

Ren raised his eyebrows, and Rey said nothing more, embarrassed. Instead, she returned her focus to climbing and the feeling of the call of her kyber crystal.

Reach, pull, step, breathe. Reach, pull, step, breathe. Reach, pull, step, breathe.

Repeat.

Now this – climbing – this was comfortable to her. Familiar. It took her back to Jakku – to a warm, sunny desert. To a time when she had known next to nothing of evil presences lurking in the galaxy. It took her to when the only thing she had to worry about was where her next meal was coming from.

And it also took her to oblivion and loneliness.

 _But not anymore,_ she told herself without even thinking what she meant by it. Glancing to her left then, she was pleasantly surprised to find herself now at an even level with Kylo Ren.

“Caught up, I see,” he said.

“Caught up and passing you,” she replied, and with a smile on her face, edged out ahead of him.

Minutes later, breathing heavily but feeling good, she pulled herself up onto the small ledge she had seen from the ground, her eyes caught by the light of a small, twinkling crystal embedded within the surface of the rock wall.

Her kyber crystal.

A heartbeat later, Ren was next to her.

“Need a moment to rest?” she asked, watching his chest and shoulders rise and fall as he took deep breaths of air.

Ren stared at her for a moment, perhaps surprised by her question, then shook his head. “No, I – I’m alright,” he said. 

Rey nodded, her eyes momentarily resting on his scar strangely illuminated in the light cast by the nearby crystal, before turning her attention to the object that was causing such an effect.

“So now what?” she asked.

Ren jerked his head toward the crystal. “Take it.”

* * *

 

**Kylo**

The girl said nothing at first in response to his instruction, hesitation etched across her face, then, in an unexpectedly shy voice, she asked, “Do I have to do anything special to take it?”

Kylo shook his head. “Not as far as I know,” he replied. Then, in a surprising effort to be encouraging, and feeling his face flush because of it, added, “It’s your crystal. Don’t be afraid. Just reach out and claim it.”

The girl nodded, and, taking a deep breath, stretched a hand forward and grasped the small crystal, and…

Her whole face suddenly lit up – like a radiant light that Kylo was unable to look away from, mesmerized.

And when she smiled…

Which she did so at him, either knowingly or unknowingly, he felt a joy inside himself.

Her joy. The joy she felt at finding her kyber crystal and laying claim to it. And he felt a warmth from this the likes he had never felt before.

It was so comforting he could drown in it.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he quickly averted his eyes away from the sight of the girl and reached his hands up to his head and tangled his fingers in his hair, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

The girl observed him doing that, and said, “What – what is it?” Her glow was starting to fade a little and Kylo detected a hint of worry in her voice. 

“Nothing,” he replied hurriedly. “I’m just –” He stopped, not really sure what to say. Was there anything _to_ say? _No,_ he decided, _not without opening a can of worms._ Instead, he said rather lamely, “You have your crystal, I’m ready to head back down to the ground now.”

The girl stared at him, her lips slightly parted and her eyes showing confusion. As well as…disappointment? Kylo rolled his shoulders and continued to evade her gaze. Some things were better left unsaid and unthought… _and unshared._

A few more moments of prolonged silence passed, then she finally said, “Oh, okay, well, let’s get going then.” She tucked her crystal safely into a pocket of her coat, and without further ado, turned away from Kylo to prepare for the climb down. The young man watched her out of the corner of his eye for a few seconds, his face feeling unwantedly warm, then decided he should make what he told her true, and carefully maneuvered himself back out onto the wall, leaving the safety of the outcropping behind.

He had barely taken his first step down, when the girl’s voice suddenly broke into his thoughts via their link. “Be careful,” she said, “the climb down is more difficult than the one going up.” Kylo waited for her to say more – he could sense that she wanted to, but for whatever reason she didn’t, so he continued on, the feel of her presence lingering in his mind for a little while before she disengaged from their connection and he was left alone.

But not fully alone.

She was still there. Something of her. And he didn’t push the feeling of it away either.

Didn’t want to. He liked the feeling. The connection.

 _But maybe it would be better for both of us if I did,_ he thought, his stomach twisting just the slightest at the notion. _It would be easier to keep my priorities straight._

No more distracting thoughts and emotions as had been happening so often of late…

Supreme Leader Snoke. That was who he needed to be thinking about, and remembering just why they were on the particular quest that they were on.

Snoke. The very name sent a tremor down Kylo’s spine. Now _that_ was a feeling he didn’t like.

The young man paused for a moment from descending to take a deep, calming breath. _Focus,_ he told himself. _Climb._ Everything else could be taken care of once he got to the bottom of the wall. He really just needed to be concentrating on the task at hand.

Once his mind was appropriately cleared, he stretched his leg down, searching for a spot to safely set his foot and resume his descent. Finding one, he eased himself lower down the wall.

With a sinking sensation in his stomach, though, the young man felt the rock beneath his foot quiver a little. 

_I’ve got a bad feeling about this,_ he thought.

Quickly, he scrambled to find another foothold.

But he just wasn't fast enough.

The rock split and crumbled beneath him, sending small stones and pebbles flying to the ground far below, leaving his feet dangling in the air. His hands grasped desperately at the cold cave rock, but without his lower extremities able to hold him up, all he had were his hands to support him and they were slipping by the second.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow down.

His breathing became heavier, his heartbeat louder, and the feeling of impending doom much, much greater.

Somewhere off to his right he heard the girl. She was shouting at him to “Hold on,” and he was trying to, but it was becoming harder with each breath. Briefly, he thought about using the Force, but it was...

Too late.

He couldn’t hold on any longer. His fingers lost their grip. 

And he was falling.

Vaguely, he heard a scream.

_“Ben!”_

And that was the last thing he knew before all went dark.

* * *

 

**Rey**

_Ben._

_Ben._

_Ben._

The name. So simple. So straightforward. It repeated itself over and over again in Rey’s head as she scrambled at break-neck speed down the cave wall. She didn’t know what made her shout it. Why she had shouted it. But it had slipped out.

And there was no taking it back.

But that wasn’t what was important. The young man it had once belonged to – might still belong to – did. And, at the moment, he lie in a sad, unmoving heap on the cold cave floor.

Ben…

She stopped, right as she planted her feet firmly on the ground, a strange burst of wild and raw and dark emotion bombarding her.

 _What was she doing?_ Her brain suddenly screamed at her. This was Kylo Ren! She didn’t owe him anything. Certainly not her pity…or her help.

So what if she didn’t hate him any longer, she wasn’t obliged to do anything for him. Not only that, she didn’t need him. She had her kyber crystal now; she could just walk out of that cave right then and there, take the _Millennium Falcon_ , and fly away. Far away.

Her eyes flicked to the young man’s inert body several feet away. Suddenly, it felt like there was a chasm between them. Him on one side and her on another. Just like at Starkiller.

 _But this wasn’t Starkiller,_ Rey abruptly reminded herself, a warm reassuring feeling suddenly spreading from her fingers to her toes. And he – he wasn’t who she thought he was.

He wasn’t a monster.

And neither was she. 

She had left him once lying helpless on the ground; she didn’t have it in her, not anymore, to do it again.

Quickly, she closed the gap between them and knelt down by her fallen companion’s side. She hovered uncertainly for a moment, then reached forward and carefully rolled him onto his back. His hair partially covered his face, so she gently brushed it aside, absently noting how smooth and soft it felt to her touch. And his skin, it was pale. Frighteningly pale – and it scared the young woman to see it so.

Delicately, she pressed one of her fingers to his neck and felt for a pulse. Her heart almost burst out of her chest in relief when she detected one.

 _But now what?_ she wondered, glancing down at his long unmoving frame. What if he was hurt in some other way she couldn’t see?

Suddenly, she heard a loud gasping noise and, darting her eyes to the young man’s face, saw his eyes blinking open. He was coming to!

And he looked at her, his gaze hesitant, shy.

“You – you called me Ben,” he rasped, his dark eyes staring fixedly at her.

Rey blushed, and then blushed again when she realized she had one of her hands entwined in his hair. Gently she extricated it from his thick locks and brought it to rest in her lap.

“I – I did,” she said, unable to help the stutter. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” he said, surprising her. “Don’t be. I...” Suddenly he stopped, as if unsure what else to say.

Rey didn’t know what to say either, so she just stared. And he stared back. They stared at each other.

All of a sudden, remembering herself, Rey shook her head and returned to the very serious matter of him lying on the ground.

“Are you okay?” she asked, ignoring the heat spreading throughout her cheeks. “I mean…can you move?”

“I think so,” he said, and as if to prove his point, albeit groaning slightly, slowly bent his arms and pushed his body up into a sitting position. “Nothing seems broken.”

Rey rocked back onto her feet. “You’re pretty lucky then, you know that?” In her voice she detected hints of nervousness and worry and wondered if he heard it too. “That was a pretty long fall.”

He said nothing but rubbed at the back of his head, perhaps remembering the scary descent he took down the wall. Then, slowly but determinedly, rose to his feet and held out a hand to her. “You still have your kyber crystal?” he asked, apparently ready to move on from his near brush with death.

Rey eyed him for a moment, then accepted his proffered hand. Once on her feet again, she patted her coat pocket. “Yes,” she replied. “Why?” Then, still concerned about him, asked, “Are you sure you don’t need a moment to recuperate-” She let her sentence dangle, then taking a deep breath, added, “Ben?”

There was a long pause, and Rey wondered if she had made a mistake saying the name again. It was one thing to shout it in a moment of panic, quite another to do it purposely.

She held her breath, waiting.

Then…

“No,” he finally replied, “I’m just ready to get out of this cave.”

* * *

 

**Kylo**

The girl stared at him, a wariness she had in her eyes fading to a softness that Kylo was not used to seeing in people when they looked at him. He wasn’t sure how to react to it.

 _Probably best not to do anything,_ he told himself.

So he didn’t.

He shoved a hand into his hair, mussing it up, and turned toward the entrance of the large chamber.

She had called him “Ben,” and he was fine with that. From her. Better than “Monster,” “Creature,” or nothing at all. But he wasn’t comfortable enough yet to truly own it for himself again.

If ever.

Perhaps when everything was all over…

“Where do you want to go exactly?” the girl asked suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.

Rey. _Her_ name. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Not quite yet.

“Some place warm,” he answered. “But I’ll be happy just getting back to the main part of the temple.”

“You think we’re going to have to spend another night here?” she questioned him.

Kylo closed his eyes for a moment. He wasn’t about to tell her it, but he was pretty banged up from the fall. As much as he was ready to get back to the _Falcon_ and begin the next part of their journey, he knew he was going to need some rest, despite what he had been telling her. It was going to be difficult enough just getting back to the temple, let alone trudging through a rough, snow-covered terrain.

Finally, opening his eyes again, he replied, “Yes,” and did his best to push any feelings of pain aside.

The girl was silent for a few heartbeats, which made him feel unusually anxious, then finally nodded her head and said, “I’ll lead the way.”

He didn’t argue with her.


	17. Chapter 17

**Finn**

Finn resisted the urge to rock back and forth on his feet, but instead stood still and composed in the office of General Leia Organa, as he tried to sway her and Luke Skywalker on the idea of assimilating the captive Stormtroopers into Resistance society, an idea he had been thinking about nonstop since his last visit with them.

And so far, the General was not biting. Skywalker had yet to say anything on the subject.

“General Organa,” the young man said. “Master Skywalker. Please, listen to me. I believe these guys…they can change.” He paused and ran his hand over his hair. “I can tell they want to.”

“Finn,” Leia said, her voice neutral but not unfriendly, “I hear what you’re saying. I really do. But how can we know this is true? How do _you_ know this is really what those men and women want?” She was quiet for a few seconds, then added, “They tried to _kill_ Luke and Chewbacca.”

“Because I’ve spoken to them!” Finn exclaimed without even having to think about his answer. “I’ve seen the interest in their eyes when they hear about being able to make their own choices. I’ve seen their reactions when I talk about the Resistance and what it stands for.” He hadn’t remembered or was sure if even knew that fact about the troops trying to attack Skywalker and Chewie, but he didn’t think his answer would have been any different anyway.

He was about to say more, but the General held up her hand and he respectfully fell silent. “I want to believe you, Finn, and to an extent, I do, but,” she suddenly sighed, “not every Stormtrooper out there is going to be another FN-2187. Some of them might just be looking for a way to escape…back to the First Order…the first opportunity they get.”

Finn shook his head. “I don’t think that’s the case, General. Yes, there are maybe one or two like that,” and he thought of the red-haired woman with a touch of sadness, “but the majority of them…I think we should give them a chance to prove themselves.” There was a moment of silence, then he added, “You gave me a chance.”

The General’s forehead creased slightly and she looked over to Skywalker. “Luke,” she said, “what are your thoughts on what Finn is proposing? Giving those Stormtroopers an opportunity to make new names for themselves?”

The Jedi Master said nothing right away but stroked his chin. Finn observed the older man with hesitant eyes; he still didn’t know what to make of him. One minute he seemed just like any regular, seasoned fellow, offering sage advice and encouragement, and then there were other times when he was every bit the myth and legend the young man had heard about – all silent and meditative with a deep, penetrating stare as if he could see deep into a person’s soul.

But whatever he was in that particular moment, Finn needed his help, because if there was one person on the base who had any chance of convincing the General on a certain topic, it was him, her twin.

And fortunately, it sounded like Skywalker might just be on the young man’s side as he abruptly said, “I say why not?”

General Organa tilted her head and regarded her twin consideringly. “What do you mean?” she asked. “Luke, those people tried to kill you!”

Skywalker stood up and began to pace around the room, his face thoughtful. “I know they tried to kill me – or at least they wanted to capture, interrogate, and then who knows what after that to me. But…” He looked out the room’s one window and a long silence followed. Finn was starting to feel a little restless waiting for the Jedi to complete his thought when he finally spoke again. “Just because those men and women are Stormtroopers doesn’t mean they’re bad people. They are – or were – in a bad situation.” He stopped, glanced at Finn, then moved his eyes to his sister. “Most likely, one they did not place themselves in. And Finn’s right, Leia, people _can_ change,” and he shot his sister a very meaningful look.

Finn clapped his hands together once then shook his fists as if in triumph. He had said something similar to the captive Stormtroopers on his very first visit to them. “Yes,” he exclaimed, “this! This is what I am talking about!”

Suddenly, the young man felt very light, and his opinion of the old Jedi Master increased slightly.

Maybe just maybe he was someone Finn could trust, and his thoughts briefly jumped to Rey before immediately turning back to the Stormtroopers as the General said, “But you both are not considering security concerns as I was trying to mention before. If one of these individuals were to escape and alert the First Order of their – our – whereabouts…”

Skywalker shook his head. “Leia, if that’s a concern, then it can be taken care of. Put trackers on them. Don’t have them go anywhere on base where they can send communications. Keep them fully supervised –”

“At least give them a chance!” Finn interrupted, then, realizing what he had done, glanced at Skywalker, his face hot, and said, “Er, sorry, sir.”

The Jedi Master waved off his apology and instead said, “What kind of involvement around here exactly were you hoping for these men and women?”

Finn considered the question for a moment, and when he answered, it was to General Organa he addressed his response. “Just some simple things really. Maybe they could help out with some basic jobs.” Then quickly added, “In places where there would always be people around to monitor them. Also, I thought it might just be good for them to socialize a little. Like, perhaps they could take their meals in the mess hall?”

The General relaxed back in her chair and Finn waited anxiously for her reply. This. Her permission for the Stormtroopers to enter normal society. It was important. And maybe not just now, but for the future too. 

“Finn,” she finally said, “I will consider your request of granting job placement on probationary status to the prisoners.” Finn couldn’t help the big grin that spread across his face at these words. “However,” and the smile dimmed a little, “permission to eat in the mess hall is denied.”

But really, that was more than the young man had hoped for. Jobs for the Stormtroopers. _If_ they wanted them. That was a big step in the right direction. _If_ the General approved it, of course. Everything was a big “if.” But Finn was okay with that. All he wanted to do was just show the captives that there were other options for themselves. Options that _they_ could choose. And it was definitely becoming a possibility.

“Thank you, General,” he said, excitement filling his voice, and he ran over to shake her hand. “And thank you, Master Skywalker,” he added, turning to the older man. “Thank you both! I – I just know this is the right thing to do!”

 _I just know it_ , he thought, and without further ado, excused himself from the room.

* * *

 

**Leia**

“Well he was certainly happy,” Luke commented after Finn departed Leia’s office.

Leia looked at the now closed door that the aforementioned young man had just departed through, then began straightening some papers on her desk. “Nothing is set in stone yet,” she said. “I told him I would ‘consider’ the matter. I didn’t give him my approval.”

And truthfully speaking, she was being practical.

“Oh, come on now, Leia,” Luke said, taking a seat across from her, “surely you’re going to say ‘yes.’”

Leia looked at her brother reflectively for a moment, then resting her elbows onto the desk before her and folding her hands together, said quietly, “If I recall, there was once a time when you used to think Stormtroopers were the enemy.”

Luke exhaled loudly and looked down at a spot on the floor. “That was before I realized the world wasn’t quite so black and white.”

The General didn’t reply to her brother’s comment, but gave him a rather searching stare. It was becoming clear to her as the days went on that, while her twin was the same person for the most part, some changes had occurred during their years apart.

Surprisingly, she suddenly found herself wondering about Anakin – their father – and what he would have looked like had he reached her and Luke’s age. What he would have looked like had his body not been so severely scarred and damaged…

Would he have looked like Luke did now? Gray-haired and bearded. Slightly wrinkled and worn by time, but with eyes still clear and bright.

She sighed inwardly. She would never know. Just like she’d never know how much of their mother, Padmé, she looked like.

Why did everyone in her family seem to die before their time?

Her thoughts drifted to Ben. Would he die young too?

Thinking about her errant son made her think about other things. Namely, the First Order. The criminal organization had been strangely quiet as of late. Yes, they had suffered a big loss with the destruction of Starkiller, but she knew that wouldn’t stop them.

Wouldn’t stop Snoke.

And she knew why that was.

The very fact they had the Stormtroopers Finn so much wanted her to grant leniency to as captives was proof enough.

It wasn’t just about bringing a wayward servant back to the First Order. It was about who that wayward servant was. Just as it always had been.

Since he was a baby.

Abruptly, Leia rose to her feet, knocking her chair over in the process. “Luke, what can we do to stop the First Order?!” she said in a more demanding voice than she intended. “What can _I_ do to save my son?”

Luke stared at her, his blue eyes somber, his face serious. If he was surprised by her sudden change in subject, he didn’t show it.

Several heartbeats passed where neither twin said anything. Then…

“First, trust in the Force,” her brother finally said. As he always said. “And second, consider Finn’s proposal. I think he might be right about it being the right thing to do.” He was quiet for a few seconds, then added, “Who knows…it might just be the start of some kind of Stormtrooper rebellion.”

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey wiped a hand across the steam covered mirror in the refresher of the _Millennium Falcon_ ; she had just finished taking her first hot shower in days, and the sensation of being clean felt like bliss. The glowing, smooth-skinned reflection looking back at her agreed.

The fact that she still looked that way, even after having been in less than hospitable conditions the past several days, could only be attributed to the efforts of one person, and Rey knew she was certainly not the one who could take credit for that.

From having warm clothes to wear to food and water to eat and drink, as well as games to play, flashlights to illuminate their paths, not to mention a dozen other little things that had made their trip on Ilum a success, Ben had taken care of them. 

Of her.

Suddenly, a lovely blush crept its way onto the young woman’s cheeks and she turned away from the mirror. Quickly locating her tunic and pants, she pulled them on, then slipped out of the now smotheringly warm room.

And stopped.

Several yards away from her, with his back turned to her, stood Ben, shirtless. But it wasn’t the well-defined, corded muscles of the young man’s back that gave her pause. It was the big, blue and purple bruises snaking around his midsection that did. Bruises Rey _knew_ he had acquired from his fall in the ice cave. Bruises he had not told her about. Bruises, though, that she should have known were there despite his assurances that he was fine when he clearly was not.

Abruptly, she inhaled a deep, shuddering breath, and…

Ben turned around to face her, his eyes, dark, deep, mysterious pools of life, instantly locking with hers. Suddenly, it felt like time came to a standstill, and the only way Rey could tell its passing was by counting her own heartbeats.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three…

Eventually, she lowered her eyes slightly and immediately had her attention grabbed by a thin pale line that cut across the length of his bare right shoulder. 

A scar. 

But not just any scar. It was part of the one that she herself had given him during their duel on Starkiller. Instantly, the memory of that fight flooded her brain with all kinds of images and sensations. Above all others, though, the sight of him lying on the ground, his face and clothes shredded by the burning power of a lightsaber.

Wielded by her.

Rey opened her mouth to speak, but found herself unable to find the right words to say. What did she even want to say?

She glanced back up to Ben’s face and saw him watching her. Slowly, he took a shirt she didn’t even realize that he was holding and slipped it over his head, effectively covering the scar and bruises from her view.

Finally finding her voice, the young woman squeaked, “You’re hurt.” She wasn’t sure if she was referring to the bruises or the scar. Perhaps both.

Ben gave her one final stare, then turned away from her. “It’s nothing,” he said.

Rey walked over next to him. “No,” she said, hesitantly placing her hand on his arm, “it’s something. Those bruises look awful. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He said nothing for several seconds, then, “I’ve had worse,” and gently removing his arm from her grasp, walked away.

Rey stared after him. _Had worse?_

Snoke.

The name was there, in her thoughts, before she even realized it was.

_What had that creature done to him?_

“Ben!” she called without thinking. 

Surprisingly, he stopped, and she was able to make her way to his side once again; this time, refraining from touching him, although her hands itched to do just that as some kind of strange reflex.

“Please let me help you,” she said, her eyes searching his face half-turned away from her. Again, she didn’t know what she meant. Was she referring to his bruises, or maybe, to some other pain inflicted a long time ago? She wasn’t sure.

Several moments of silence passed.

Finally, Ben replied, “The bruises will heal.”

“I know,” Rey said, “but there are things to help-”

“Why don’t we get going on our next leg of this journey,” he abruptly cut her off.

The young woman just stared at him and sighed. Could he have been any more obvious about changing the subject?

“Listen,” he said, “I know you’re only trying to help, but I’m fine. Really. You don’t have to worry.”

Rey slowly shook her head then looked off to her right, suddenly realizing something. It wasn’t that Ben didn’t appreciate her concern – she believed on a certain level that he did – it was just that he didn’t know how to handle it. Like he wasn’t used to having someone ask him about how he was, so he brushed her off not sure what else to do.

For the life of her, though, Rey could not imagine Han or Leia, or even Luke for that matter, not caring about his well-being. Which brought her to the question of: Why was he like this?

Why was he so reluctant to accept help?

And again she found herself wondering: _What happened to him all those years ago…?_

She glanced at him once more. It was all there, in his mind, the answers to all of her questions. If she wanted to, she could find them. And she did want to.

But she wouldn’t do that.

It wasn’t right.

It wasn’t the way she wanted to do things.

She wanted…

“You can trust me,” she suddenly said, her voice so soft it was barely a whisper.

There was a long pause during which the young woman waited on bated breath for Ben to speak. But he didn’t. He said nothing, but turned away from her and headed in the direction of the cockpit.

Rey watched him go and realized she wasn’t upset by his lack of response. Truthfully, she expected it. And, more importantly, he hadn’t denied what she had said either.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo slouched down into the pilot’s chair in the cockpit, suddenly exhausted, the words the girl had spoken to him just moments ago reverberating in his head.

_“You can trust me.”_

She had said it so simply, so honestly, so meaningfully.

And he had sensed it.

She really meant what she said.

The young man wrapped a hand around one of the levers on the control panel and stared out at the star-strewn sky above Ilum, unsure about so many things all of a sudden. His own feelings right there at the top.

There was so little the girl knew about him. Understood. He knew she was trying to. That she _wanted_ to, of all things. But he just…

Abruptly, he released the lever and ran his hand through his hair, anxious. The sooner they got to their next destination the better. Perhaps a change in surroundings would put everything he was experiencing as of late in perspective.

Like what he really wanted to accomplish.

Even still, when he heard footsteps approaching in the passageway, he couldn’t deny the sudden feeling of anticipation he felt, nor the quickening of his heart when he saw a familiar slim form slip into the co-pilot’s chair beside him who, very surprisingly, did not put up an argument about who got to sit where. Instead, all she asked was, “So what’s the next part of your plans?”

Kylo exhaled slowly and looked over at the girl; she had her head turned away from him and was staring off at the same scenery he was just looking at seconds ago. Suddenly, he recalled another star-filled sky.

The one over Ahch-To.

The sky that had led him to her.

The power of their connection showing its strength across the distance of a galaxy.

And now here they were…

“Crafting you a lightsaber,” he replied. She looked at him then and he met her gaze for gaze. “You have the crystal,” he continued, his voice oddly husky, “so now we need to make use of it.”

The girl sat up straighter. “How do we do that?...Build a lightsaber, I mean?” There was an excitement to her voice that if Kylo wasn’t careful could find to be very contagious.

“First, we have to get the necessary parts,” he answered. Then, he looked out the window and waved one of his arms at the snowy landscape of Ilum still spread out before them. “But before we can do that, we have to get out of here.”

“And go where?” the girl asked. “The First Order is no doubt looking for…” Suddenly, she looked down at her hands, clearly unable to finish her sentence.

Kylo knew what she meant, though.

“For me?” he said. She nodded. The young man flexed his fingers. “Look, I know this, but…” He reached behind him and scrabbled around for something on the floor. Finding it, he held it up for her to see. “They’ll be looking for this,” he finished, showing her his mask. “Not…not me. Not the face you see.”

She shook her head. “How do you know this, though. For all we know, they could have your face… _your_ face…plastered all over the galaxy.” Her eyes moved back to the window. “Being here on Ilum is one thing. There’s no one here! But some place more populated…”

Kylo said nothing but stared at the face of the helmet. It had been his shield for so long, but now…Now all it would do is place a giant target on his back.

“Listen,” he finally said, “you’re going to have to believe me when I say no one will be looking for me. _Me._ As in my face.”

“But there are people in the First Order,” she began to say, but Kylo cut her off and said, “A few, but they won’t share my likeness with the galaxy.”

“Why, though?” she questioned him further. “Wouldn’t they do just that if they wanted to find you?”

Again, Kylo was silent, thinking. She brought up some very valid points, but how did he convince her that what he was telling her was true – that the First Order wouldn’t advertise his image from end of the galaxy to the other.

The only way he could.

The truth.

“Because Snoke wouldn’t want that,” he explained. She stared at him, so he continued, saying, “The Supreme Leader has kept my true identity extremely secret. No one in the galaxy knows who the man named Kylo Ren really is except for a very small number of people.” Quietly, he added, “You, being one of them.”

The girl glanced at him for a moment then turned away. “But what about all those Stormtroopers who undoubtedly saw you on Starkiller?” she asked.

Kylo looked at his mask again. “You’re not going to like my answer to that.”

This time it was her turn to be quiet for a little while, then…

“But why would Snoke keep your identity so secret?”

Kylo shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He had wondered that himself at times. The Supreme Leader had always seemed so proud that he was the master – well, former master now – of the youngest living Skywalker. Why not share that with the world?

Eventually, the girl sighed and said, “Fine, but I still think you having some sort of disguise would be a good idea…wherever we go.” She looked at him. “And where is that anyway?”

Memories from a long time ago slid their way across his thoughts, but Kylo pushed them aside.

“There’s a world in the Mid Rim,” he said. “A place I went to years ago. I think it may have what we’re looking for to assemble a lightsaber.”

“I’m sure it’s a place I’ve never heard of,” the girl said, “but the name of this planet is?”

Kylo let his helmet drop to the floor.

“Naboo.”

* * *

 

**Finn**

“Your comrades have all taken jobs around the base,” Finn said. “Wouldn’t you like to join them?”

He was standing outside the detainment cell that most of the captive Stormtroopers had occupied up until an hour ago, at which point they had agreed to be assigned, several of them rather gladly, to certain low level task forces around the Resistance base, General Organa having finally given her administrative approval. 

Most of them except for one.

The red-haired woman - who had continued to argue with Finn up until the very moment her companions had walked out of their prison cell, leaving her the sole occupant.

“I will not work for your rebel scum,” the woman growled, her back to Finn who, from his vantage point, thought she looked skinny. Almost unhealthily so. He wondered how much she was eating.

“They’re not scum,” the young man replied. “They’re people. Like you. And they’re working to make a better galaxy.”

“So would say a traitor,” the woman sneered.

Finn shook his head even though he knew she couldn’t see it.

“I wish you would give them – us – a chance,” he said with a touch of sorrow. “Give yourself a chance.” He waited a few moments, then added, “Don’t let the First Order control you anymore.”

At that, the woman turned around and glared at him. “No one controls me!” she spat.

Finn sighed and grabbed a hold of the cell’s bars. “You’re letting them control you right now. Look around you. Everyone else is gone. Except for you who holds onto a way of thinking that is stifling you…who you can be.”

She turned away again, and if Finn let himself believe it, he thought he saw a tear slide down her cheek.

He released the prison bars and stepped back, preparing to leave. “Just think about what I said, okay?”

There was long stretch of silence. He waited for her to say something – an insult, an argument – anything, but when she didn’t, he turned and left, hearing the soft sounds of someone crying.


	18. Chapter 18

**Rey**

Where Ilum was cold, frozen, and desolate, Naboo was warm, sunny, and bursting with life.

When the _Millennium Falcon_ had begun its descent down to the world’s surface, Rey’s breath had caught in her throat as her eyes filled with scenes of rolling, grassy hills, fields upon fields of brightly colored flowers, and rushing, roaring waterfalls – like some kind of fairy tale land she had read about in the rare holobook she was able to get her hands on in her youth.

Peaceful.

Idyllic.

Beautiful.

And then there were the buildings…

Rey had never seen such tall, elegantly erected structures in all her life. It was so easy to believe that this was a place where kings and queens lived. Unlike Jakku, where the only types of houses were sad, pathetic little shanties, and the only form of government seemed to be the junk boss, Unkar Plutt.

And the people! There were so many! Mostly humans, but several alien species, many she had never seen before. She wondered how they all found room to fit in the space of one city.

Speaking of the city…

“What did you say this town was called again?” she turned to Ben next to her who was perusing a map in front of him; they were inside of some sort of visitor’s center located near the hangar where they had stowed the _Falcon_ and the young man was trying to get a layout of the city.

“Theed,” he replied without removing his gaze from the map.

Rey studied her companion. In an effort to disguise himself he had placed an eye patch over one of his eyes. It wasn’t much of a camouflage in Rey’s mind, and really, if it did anything, mixed with his all black clothes and already handsome face – scar included, it made him even more striking to look at.

_Like some kind of dark, mysterious prince with a dash of danger._

Abruptly, the young woman ripped her eyes away, blushing. She could not believe she had just thought that! 

Even if it was true. Or something like it…

Casting her eyes around the room, she spotted two young women near her own age smiling and giggling with each other. They were pretty girls with pretty clothes, much nicer than Rey’s own rather plain outfit, and it made her suddenly very self-conscious about her own appearance. How drab she must look to them in their finery of satins and silks. How drab she probably looked to everyone.

Suddenly, she felt a strange feeling of irritation bubbling inside her, and flicked her eyes away from the girls with the airy laughter and pearly smiles, whose gazes seemed to rest more often than was necessary on Ben, and instead over to a lovely painting of what she assumed was a farm – something Ben had told her Naboo had many of – and thought it looked just like the kind of place she would like to call home someday.

Quiet.

Welcoming.

Safe.

“You like that?” Ben’s voice abruptly cut in.

Almost instantaneously, Rey felt her heart begin to pound furiously in her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girls watching her and Ben, and her anxiety level suddenly increased by ten-fold.

 _Probably wondering what a guy like him is doing with a desert rat like me,_ she thought, running a hand over her hair. _If only they knew the truth…_

“Umm…yeah,” she forced herself to reply, her face undoubtedly turning a shade of pink. “It – it’s lovely, like – like it would be a nice place to live.”

A long pause followed during which she felt Ben’s gaze on her. Eventually, she took a deep breath and, tilting her head almost imperceptibly in the direction of the two young women, said, “What do you think of girls like that?”

Through their connection, Rey sensed the young man’s sudden confusion by her strange question, and turned to face him just as he flashed his eyes - or eye, rather - over to the other girls then back to her.

“What exactly am I supposed to think?” he asked.

Rey licked her lips nervously. _Oh goodness_ , she fretted, _what was she thinking asking such a – a silly question?_ To him, no less. And she wracked her brain for a plausible answer to his question.

Eventually, she mumbled, “Their clothes - their clothes are really lovely. They must be very expensive.” _Oh galaxy!_ If her face wasn’t red before, it definitely was now.

For a second or two, Ben just stared, silent, then his eye shifted to her feet and made a slow climb back up to her face. If Rey could have melted into the floor at that moment, she probably would have.

Finally, Ben said, “Clothes don’t make the person,” and this time it was Rey’s turn to stare as she wondered if she also had suddenly forgotten how to breathe.

Several seconds later, and feeling immensely flustered, the young woman decided a change of subject was in order and said, “So did you ever figure out where we’re going?”

“I did,” Ben said, turning away and heading toward the door; Rey shot one more quick look at the young women, whom she discovered were still watching her and Ben, then followed the young man out into a bright and bustling street.

“And where is that?”

Ben paused to look at her and Rey couldn’t help but notice how shiny his hair was in the sunlight. “A market not too far from here,” he answered. “I’m hoping that’s where we can find the pieces we need for your lightsaber.”

Rey nodded and thought of the last lightsaber she had wielded, wondering what had become of it. Did Luke find it or was it just lost somewhere on the island? Had it maybe rolled off into the ocean somehow? She didn’t know. Suddenly her thoughts drifted to her staff, perhaps still lying in the small cell she had slept in on Ahch-To. It had been her tried and true form of protection once upon a time not so long ago – before any talk of lightsabers; she pondered if she would ever see it again either.

Then she had an idea.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

“You’re sure that’s how you want your lightsaber to look?” Kylo said.

“Positive,” the girl replied.

The young man looked up and down the busy, long stretch of the outdoor market he had located on the map in the visitor’s center. He had been there before. Once. A long time ago. With Skywalker. But he barely remembered the trip. 

Certainly not the amount of money some of the vendors were asking for their wares. 

And certainly not the surprising size of the crowd. He just prayed that somewhere in that mess he could find what they were looking for.

Skirting his way around a pair of Togrutas, he made his way over to a nearby stand, sensing the girl’s presence following close behind him.

The girl.

This place was a wonder to her. Since their descent, he had watched her eyes absorb everything there was to see, everything a marvel to her. Naboo was quite a step up in the galaxy compared to Jakku; he couldn’t blame her for finding it all so fascinating. But he also found it a little sad…

Her life up until recently, as he knew, had been rather difficult, to say the least. While his, well, it had been something completely different altogether.

But he didn’t want to dwell on what was, he wanted to think about what could be. And with that, he moved onto another stand not finding what he wanted at the current one. And then he moved onto another one, and another one, and another, and so on, until…

He was just about ready to give up.

Steering himself and the girl away from the main part of the throng, he made ready to exit the market.

And then he stopped, a strange tingling sensation creeping up his spine.

For reasons unknown to him, he suddenly turned his head to the right and saw a small booth almost hidden in the shadows in-between two much larger neighboring stands. Intrigued, Kylo immediately made his way over to it.

And could barely believe what he saw.

“How much for these parts here?” he asked the merchant, waving his arm at the table in front of him.

The merchant, a Toydarian, looked at the pieces the young man was referring to, then broke out into a wide smile, his wings flapping noisily to keep himself aloft at Kylo’s level.

“Those parts!” the Toydarian said. “Those parts are very rare. Very rare indeed. Not cheap.”

“How much?” Kylo asked again, doing his utmost to keep himself calm and not let the irritation that he felt at bartering seep its way into his voice.

The Toydarian said nothing right away, the only sound he made being the flapping of his wings, then, with his big smile replied, “Five thousand credits.”

Kylo grimaced slightly, but managed to keep his face relatively impassive; to his left, though, he could sense the girl’s incredulity at the price.

 _“Do you have that much money?”_ the girl asked him via their link.

 _“No,”_ Kylo replied, grateful she had not asked her question out loud. _“This is where we try to talk him down.”_

But the vendor would not budge on his price, and Kylo knew it would be pointless trying to use any sort of mind trick on him as Toydarians were well-known to be resistant to Force-related influence, not to mention that he didn’t want to draw any attention to the fact that he _was_ Force sensitive, so instead all he could do was tell the merchant that he would be back later and walk away, the girl hot on his heels.

“What are we going to do?” she asked in a weary voice. “Do you think there’s anyone else here selling the items that we need?”

“Highly unlikely,” Kylo answered, leading them out of the market and onto a relatively empty side street. “Particularly with the lightsaber you have in mind.”

“So then what?” the girl said, drawing up beside him. “We just give up? Leave? Go somewhere else in the galaxy?”

Kylo stopped suddenly, causing her to stop as well, and was unable to resist the magnetic pull of the girl’s hazel-colored eyes as they gazed up at him, curious, hesitant.

“No,” he said, remembering himself, “we get the money he wants.”

“How?”

“We earn it.”

_“How?”_

Kylo’s mind flashed to a cold, ice cave a galaxy away. Three days spent whiling his time away.

“Sabacc,” was his eventual reply.

“Sabacc?” the girl repeated, furrowing her brow. “The card game? What does that…” Then, suddenly, understanding dawned on her and all she finished up with was, “Oh…”

Kylo waited for her to possibly protest to such an endeavor, but when she didn’t he reached down into a bag he had brought with him, and, pulling the contents he was looking for out, held them out to the girl.

“Here,” he said, “take these.”

The girl stared at his palm for a moment or two, then her eyes widened. “Credit chips?” she said. “Don’t we need those for the lightsaber parts?”

“We do,” Kylo said, “but you can have these.”

The girl shook her head. “But…why?”

Kylo took a long, deep breath, his heart fluttering just a little, prepared that what he was about to say next was probably somehow going to come out the completely wrong way.

“I just thought that maybe you might like to buy yourself something.”

“Buy myself something?” the girl said, looking between the money and him. “Like what?”

Kylo ran his free hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he said, “I thought you might like to buy yourself some clothes.”

Silence.

“Clothes?” the girl gawked at him. “But didn’t you tell me earlier-”

“I did!” Kylo exclaimed, trembling slightly. “And I stand by what I said. It’s just – it’s just – Oh, forget it!” and he turned away from her questioning gaze.

A couple of heartbeats passed, then…

Kylo felt a hand on his arm. From the corner of his eye, he saw the girl standing beside him.

“It’s just that you were trying to be nice,” she said, finishing up what he had been trying to say seconds before.

The young man didn’t say anything, but the girl smiled nevertheless.

“Thank you,” she said, “and you’re right: I would like to buy some new clothes.”

Kylo blushed.

* * *

 

**Finn**

“Do you know what these are?”

Finn turned his head in response to the question being asked, and found his gaze directed to a healthy row of flowers.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry” he responded. “I’m not much of a botanist.”

“They’re chrysanthemums, I think,” was the reply.

Finn looked at his companion. Her red hair was gleaming and her skin had a glow to it that he had not seen yet on her since they had met.

She still looked a little thin, however. But he had a feeling that was going to change.

“How do you know that?” he asked. They were outside picking up litter around the base, and so far, Finn had found himself repeatedly surprised by the amount of things his comrade knew about their natural surroundings.

The woman stared at the flowers for a moment or two, then turned her eyes on Finn. “My mother,” she said. Then, she shook her head. “I know, that probably sounds silly. We’re taken when we’re so young, but…” She suddenly looked sad.

“You remember her?” Finn said quietly, gently.

She exhaled. “I’m not sure. I think it’s her I remember, but it’s been so long…” She paused, and Finn watched a cloud pass over her face. “It’s just I remember a woman – someone I loved very much. And flowers,” she knelt down next to the chrysanthemums and touched one hesitantly with her finger, “like these.” Another pause. “Who do you think planted these here?”

Finn shrugged. It really could have been anyone.

“Whoever did it,” the woman said, “they chose well. Chrysanthemums are extremely hardy flowers.”

Finn knelt down next to her and studied the blossoms. “How do you know so much about plants?” he asked, curious.

The woman blushed. “I studied about them. Any chance I got. There are so many different species in the galaxy…” Suddenly, she stopped, like she was embarrassed, and Finn looked at her and she smiled a slow, sad smile. “Hard to believe, isn’t it? Me…wanting to learn about trees and flowers and bushes and all sorts of things like that.”

The young man shook his head. “No, I think it sounds like something any person might want to do.” 

She didn’t reply, but instead gently ran her fingers across the tops of the flowers.

Several seconds passed, then she turned to Finn and said softly, “Do you think I could be called ‘Chrysanthemum?’”

Finn gazed at the woman – at the true, honest sincerity that her face held, and felt his heart beat a little faster.

He knew he was right to believe.

To not give up even when others might have.

“Like for a name?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied, her eyes bright.

Finn considered the question. ‘Chrysanthemum’ was such a mouthful of a word. But if it made her happy…

“Sure, you can be ‘Chrysanthemum,’” he said, nodding his head. Then he was quiet for moment, thinking. “But do you suppose it would be alright if I called you ‘Chrys’ for short?”

“’Chrys?’” she said, trying the name out. “Chrys. Yeah, I like that too.”

Finn smiled. “Excellent.”

* * *

 

**Hux**

General Hux gazed up at the larger-than-life hologram of the Supreme Leader that suddenly appeared before him and clenched his hands tightly together behind his back.

He really wasn’t looking forward to this conversation, and he honestly didn’t know why the Supreme Leader insisted upon having it either. To impress upon the young officer how poorly his efforts to locate the wayward Ren were turning out to be?

If so, he didn’t need to bother.

Hux already knew.

And yet, here they were.

“Well, General,” the Supreme Leader’s voice echoed throughout the large audience chamber of the _Finalizer_ , “I see Kylo Ren still evades your grasp.”

Hux swallowed down the lump in his throat, stung by his superior’s deliberate jab. “Our sweep of the galaxy remains on-going, sir.”

The Supreme Leader did not reply, and Hux felt a bead of sweat trickle its way down his back.

“We will find Ren, sir,” he said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. “I have every available unit out searching for him. We just – we just need time.”

The Supreme Leader sat back in his chair and eyed the young man with a cold, hard stare.

“Time is beginning to run out, General,” his voice boomed. “I can feel it. _Can you?_ ”

Hux flinched inwardly. That last question was directed at him. How literal did the Supreme Leader mean it, though? And how serious was he? The General hoped he didn’t have to find out.

“We will find him, Supreme Leader,” he repeated himself. “I said I would search every part of this galaxy, if that’s what it takes, and I will.”

“See that you do, General,” the Supreme Leader said, “see that you do,” and with that, his image flickered out.

Hux exhaled loudly, then reached up and wiped a hand across his brow.

It had been a short conversation, but the Supreme Leader had made his message clear: Find Ren. _Or else._

Up until that moment, General Hux had always believed the Supreme Leader regarded him as a trusted, obedient servant – a man who served his cause faithfully and honorably. But suddenly, the young man felt everything he had ever done, ever accomplished, was filled with doubt.

Doubt in his work.

Doubt in his abilities.

Doubt in himself.

And if that was what the Supreme Leader was aiming for, then he accomplished it, and Hux allowed himself a few seconds to feel some unexpected pity for himself.

But then again…

Perhaps that wasn’t what the Supreme Leader wanted. Perhaps what he really wanted was to provoke the young man. Provoke…his hate. Fuel the simmering fire of rage for Kylo Ren inside of him to a roaring blaze. 

And if that was what he wanted, then Hux could live with that. In fact, he could enjoy it.

Yes, he would find Kylo Ren for the Supreme Leader. And he would bring the abomination to him. But, his superior never stated how he had to deliver him.

Alive, of course.

But _how_ alive?

Suddenly, the General’s old dreams of punishing the arrogant Ren roared to life again.

Pressing on a comlink, he shouted Captain Phasma’s name into the device.

“Captain,” he said, “meet me on the bridge in ten minutes.”

Time to step things up even more.


	19. Chapter 19

**Phasma**

Captain Phasma strode the length of the _Finalizer’s_ bridge, her footsteps sure and swift, purposeful. Confident. Just like the woman herself. A trait that had allowed her to quickly ascend the ranks of the First Order.

And it was these same footsteps that easily announced her presence to the waiting General Hux.

“Captain,” the General said, skipping formalities and cutting right to the chase, “I need to discuss a certain matter with you,” 

“Sir?” Phasma said, having a pretty good idea what the ‘matter’ to be discussed already was. The same thing it had been the past week. And the same thing it was probably going to be for the foreseeable future.

Kylo Ren.

“How goes the search for Ren?” Hux asked, just as the Captain had predicted. Her superior was nothing if not persistent. An admirable quality, in her opinion.

“I’m sorry, sir, but there have been no confirmed sightings of Master Ren,” Phasma replied.

General Hux exhaled loudly, then turned away to face toward the windows. By the set of his shoulders, the Captain could tell how agitated he was by this news.

“And that is why, Captain,” he said, turning back toward her, “I am going to have you personally attending on these missions from now on.”

Phasma did not reply right away. The galaxy was an enormous place. She was at a loss for how she was possibly going to visit every planet to search for Kylo Ren in any acceptable amount of time.

“You are quiet, Captain Phasma,” Hux observed. “Do you disagree with my orders?”

“No, sir,” she said quickly. “I just…I am wondering how I will accomplish such a task within a certain timeframe.”

The General smiled. A knowing smile. A calculating smile. A smile of superiority.

If she had been a weaker person, the Captain would have shuddered a little at the sight of her commanding officer’s facial expression. As such, she didn’t, but she was curious.

“I am going to compile a list,” Hux said a moment later. “A list of planets I believe may be of certain…importance…to Master Ren.” Again, the General’s face took on this look of being informed of something that no one else knew, and Phasma could only wonder what it meant as he continued, saying, “While your troops scour the other planets, Captain, I want you to personally investigate these select worlds.”

“And then?” Phasma said.

Hux eyed her with a stern expression. “And then nothing, Captain,” he said. “You search these worlds and report back to me what you find.” There was a long silence, a strained silence, then he added in a cold voice, “Any other questions?”

Phasma stood up straight. “No, sir,” she said, saluting her superior. And she departed the bridge, determined to prove herself capable of the task set before her.

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey looked at the reflection staring back at her and took a slow, deep breath; she barely recognized the young woman in the mirror whose body she occupied. The kind ladies at the women’s salon she had found herself at for the past hour or two had done their work well.

Her hair was washed, brushed, and swept up into an elaborate knot at the back of her head. Her skin was smooth, soft, and smelled like lavender and vanilla. Her nails were trimmed, buffed, and polished. And her clothes…

The young woman ran a careful hand over the fine softness of the gown she wore. It was a floor-length, cream-colored piece with a beautiful lace overlay. The delicate sleeves of the dress were also lace, with a long slit running from the shoulder to the wrist. And at her waist was a lovely gold, satin sash that emphasized her slender middle.

Rey loved it.

She loved how she could move it. She loved how she looked in it. And she loved how it made her feel.

But most of all, she loved how _her_ it was.

Simple, modest, practical…

Yet elegant.

 _Elegant._ That was never a term she thought she would think about herself, and yet, as she looked at herself once more in the mirror, that was exactly the word she would use to describe what she saw.

Slowly, a smile spread its way onto her lips, and, turning away from the looking glass, she caught the eye of grandmotherly Ellen, the owner of the salon.

“Lovely,” Ellen said admiringly, bustling over next to her. “Just lovely. That young man you came in with today will be falling all over you.”

Rey blushed scarlet at the older woman’s comment. 

_Ben…falling all over her…_

“Oh my,” Ellen put her hand to her mouth, “I’ve embarrassed you, haven’t I, dear? I’m so sorry.” And she patted the young woman’s arm comfortingly.

Still slightly red-faced, Rey assured her that there was no need to apologize and looked toward the door ready to exit the room, guessing Ben was probably growing impatient waiting for her. As she did so, however, her eyes were suddenly caught by a picture of a beautiful young woman in the most elaborate outfit and headdress she had ever seen.

Following Rey’s gaze, Ellen said, “That was one of Naboo’s most famous queens.” The older woman paused, a frown creasing her brow, then added, “Despite what some may tell you nowadays.”

“What do you mean?” Rey asked, curious. She was quiet for a moment, admiring the former monarch, then said, “What was her name?”

Ellen sighed, and with a certain air of nostalgia to her voice said, “Her name was Padmé Amidala. I was only a young girl when she was elected queen, but I remember the peace that reigned our land when she ruled.”

Rey glanced at the salon owner then back to the picture, “And yet you indicated a moment ago that others might say otherwise…?”

The older woman shook her head. “It’s a long and sad story…but it doesn’t change the fact that she was a good queen, and later, a good senator for Naboo.”

For some reason, Rey found herself interested in this long-ago ruler and asked, “What became of her? Is she still alive?”

“No,” Ellen said softly, sadly, a faraway look in her eyes. “She passed from this life a long, long time ago now.”

“Oh,” Rey said, curious but unsure really how to respond. It was obvious this queen was someone important in the older woman’s mind, and she didn’t want to say the wrong thing. “That’s sad…”

Ellen nodded. “It is. But her presence isn’t entirely gone.” She paused, perhaps for effect, then added, “She left behind two children. You’ve probably heard of them. Goodness, the whole galaxy has heard of them. Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker. They’re her twin son and daughter…”

Rey blinked. Ellen was still talking, but she no longer heard her. 

_Did she say Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker?_ As in, Ben’s mother and uncle?

And if that were so, then…

This young woman, this queen, she was Ben’s _grandmother_?!

Rey suddenly wanted to sit down, her legs feeling like jelly. She knew Ben had important connections – royal connections – but she didn’t realize how many. And the whole fact that they were on Naboo in the first place…

A couple of heartbeats later, she felt a hand slip into hers. “Dear,” Ellen’s voice said urgently. “Dear, are you alright?”

Rey glanced at the salon owner who was now staring at her concernedly. “Yes,” she whispered, a waver to her voice. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“You got so pale all of a sudden, honey,” Ellen squeezed her hand. “You scared me. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” the young woman said again, firmer this time. She looked toward the door. “I should probably be…”

Ellen abruptly snapped her fingers. “Going!” she said. “Yes! I can’t wait to see that young man’s reaction.”

Before Rey could comment, the door before her was opened and Ellen ushered her out into the lobby of the salon…

And right in front of Ben, whom she couldn’t help but notice sat well away from anyone else in the room, and looked rather brooding.

Until his gaze locked on her, and then he just stared.

Rey lifted her lips into a weak smile, nervously smoothing a hand over the skirt of the dress, and waited for the young man to speak.

And she waited.

And waited.

Several seconds later, he stood up, and without saying anything, took her by the hand and led her out of the salon. Rey barely had a chance to look over her shoulder at Ellen’s kind face one last time before the door closed between them, and she and Ben were off down the street to their next destination.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

_Focus,_ Kylo told himself, looking up and down one of Theed’s busy streets, a thriving hub of activity jam-packed with a variety of sentient beings and speeders, towering buildings and even some trees. As well as noise. Music, laughter, machines. It would be very easy to lose one’s bearings by becoming distracted.

But the young man was finding it exceedingly difficult to focus.

Actually, he was finding it rather difficult to do much of anything but…

His eye drifted to his right, to where the girl stood a hair’s-breadth away, and he forgot all about the need to focus. Again.

It was just that she looked so…

So…

A dozen different words to describe her slipped through his thoughts, all leaving him rather red-faced and jittery – like some kind of silly teenage boy. Definitely not how he wanted to be feeling when he needed to navigate his way through a busy city.

He flexed his free hand, while being acutely aware of the fact that his other hand was wrapped gently but firmly around the girl’s.

And he wasn’t letting go. For her safety, as much as the fact that he didn’t really want to.

Taking a deep breath and forcing his thoughts to clear – at least somewhat, Kylo made himself pick up his feet and get moving, keeping the girl close by his side as he shouldered his way past people he found standing in his way, people he oftentimes found staring at the girl. 

Something he very much didn’t like.

But he swallowed that feeling and held onto the hand in his own even more tightly, something he didn’t cease doing even when their destination – a casino - suddenly rose up before them, a rather garish-looking structure that didn’t really seem to fit in with the rest of its surroundings.

Especially then.

And, turning to the girl, he instructed in a quiet but stern voice before the building’s entrance, “Stay close to me.”

She pursed her lips in a wry, amused way and held up their joined hands. “I don’t think you’ve been giving me much of a choice in that matter.”

Kylo glanced at their hands clasped together and flushed. “Just...just do what I tell you, okay?” He then eyed the people walking around them going inside the business and dropped his voice even lower. “I don’t trust any of these people.”

_Trust._

The word hung in the air between them. 

The girl looked at him and said nothing; Kylo could feel a tingling sensation in their Force connection, but he didn’t bother exploring it. Didn’t need to. It was something – an understanding that had been there for awhile, but he hadn’t been fully ready to acknowledge. 

Even when he had first told her in a barely awake state that she should.

Even when she had told him just after Ilum that he could.

It was a danced around topic. But it was there. And they both knew it.

Neither said anything more until they were inside, and Kylo found himself inquiring about the Sabacc tables from a human game hall attendant.

“Feeling lucky today, sir?” the employee asked, leaning across the counter he worked behind, making some chit-chat that Kylo had absolutely no desire to engage in.

“We shall see,” the young man replied, his foot braced to pivot in the direction of the Sabacc tables which he was told were well in the back of the place, past the bar and many rows of slot machines, as well as some rather gaudy, stone fountains.

“Well you should,” the man said, gawking at the girl who was oblivious to his stares as she looked with interest around the large gaming room. “If I had a lady like that at my side I’d feel mighty lucky myself.”

Kylo immediately clenched his hand into a fist at his side and bit his tongue to keep from saying something to the attendant that would inevitably have him escorted from the hall. This was not the time or place to start a ruckus, so he simply shot the guy a cold glare and turned away.

As he settled into a seat around a table with a few other patrons of the establishment a few minutes later waiting for a new Sabacc game to begin, he turned his attention to the girl who was standing on the opposite side of the table from him, where he instructed her to be so he could see her, and said via their link, “You know, we could use the Force to help us win for sure.”

The girl instantly squelched that idea as she replied, “No, that’s cheating!”

Kylo shrugged. “Well, if I lose, be ready to say good-bye to the _Falcon_.”

At that, her eyes got big and her face began to turn pink. “You are not using the _Falcon_ as some kind of – kind of – collateral!”

“It’s just a ship,” Kylo said, fully expecting some kind of fall-out from such a remark.

And there was.

“It is not ‘just a ship,’” the girl threw back at him; Kylo could feel the anger in her words as he saw it written across her face. Thankfully, no one else could hear it. “It’s the _Millennium Falcon_! _The Millennium Falcon._ The fastest ship in the galaxy.” There was a pause, and then she added, “And it’s mine.”

Kylo said nothing and looked away deciding it was time to size up his competition, which was composed of a human female, two human males, a Twi’lek male, and a Gungan female. Determining that none of them seemed particularly intimidating to him, he relaxed a little and watched as more of a crowd began to fill the spaces around the table.

“Make sure you stay where I can see you,” he spoke to the girl again through their connection.

She looked at him sullenly. “I’m not a child.”

“No,” he agreed, his eyes traveling the length of her, “you’re not. So stay close.”

He had caught her off guard with that comment, and he watched in satisfaction as she blushed a pretty shade of pink. He was actually a little shocked by his own boldness.

And then the game began.

Briefly, a memory of the first time Kylo ever played the game flickered in his mind…

 _“You can do this, Ben,” a man’s voice encouraged him. “Just stay focused and keep your mind sharp. How do you think I won the_ Falcon _?”_

 _“You won the_ Falcon _in a card game?” a twelve-year old Ben asked. How did he not know that?_

_“Sure did,” the man replied. “Imagine what you could win someday-”_

_“Han,” a woman’s voice cut in. “Our son is not going to be some cheating, card-playing gambler…”_

Kylo smirked at the memory feeling oddly encouraged by it. Yes, he could win the game. He _would_ win the game. 

And everything was going well until he glanced up at the girl half-way through the event, feeling something was just…wrong…and saw some guy…

…Talking to her.

And then his blood began to boil.

The guy wasn’t much in his mind to speak of looks-wise. Sandy-colored hair overly gelled with product. Excessively layered clothes and obviously cheap jewelry. And only of average height and build – if even that.

Definitely no one Kylo felt he should be threatened by.

But still, it was with shaking hands and in a very clipped voice he said to the girl through their link, “What does that scum want?”

She looked at him confused. “What are you talking about?”

Kylo eyed his cards briefly, then shot another look at her. “That jerk next to you. What does he want?”

The girl’s gaze shifted to her left then back to him, her expression still one of bewilderment. “You mean Dirk? He’s just chatting with me.”

 _Dirk._ Kylo processed the name with a bitter taste in his mouth. Yeah, he just bet old Dirk was ‘just chatting.’

“Have you told him your name?” he asked the girl, the question laced with sharpness.

“No.”

“Good, don’t,” and the conversation was over. For a time.

Kylo returned his attention to the card game, thankful for not having made too many foolish mistakes while he was temporarily distracted, and watched in satisfaction as the competition dwindled as two of the human players dropped out.

Not so very long later, however, the young man heard laughter, and still sensing some kind of negative vibe in the air, immediately jerked his head in the direction of the girl.

And saw her smiling. Like the punk next to her had told something amusing and she found it humorous. Kylo felt his heart twist at the sight.

“What are you doing?” he practically growled at her through their link, his teeth clenched together so tightly he thought he might break them.

The girl stared at him, clearly baffled by his question again.

“I’m not doing anything,” she said innocently. 

And he knew she was being honest. Dirk, on the other hand… 

“Shouldn’t you be paying attention to your cards?” she asked.

“I am,” Kylo replied snappishly, showing her he was by looking at his hand. “But that little freak by you is bothering me.”

Something about the guy just wasn’t right…

Interestingly, when the girl’s response came it was calm and soothing. “You shouldn’t let anything be bothering you right now,” she said. “Just focus on your cards and don’t worry about anyone else.”

A little flustered by this response, Kylo looked up and was surprised to discover the girl was smiling at him encouragingly; he felt his face redden and instantly dropped his gaze back to his cards.

She was right, he needed to just concentrate on the game. Still, the memory of her smile directed at him lingered in his thoughts and he suppressed the desire to smile himself.

And, once again, when he turned his full attention back to Sabacc, he watched with enjoyment as his earnings increased even more.

But this pleasure didn’t last long as yet again he heard the girl laughing. And this time it was just too much...

His eye shooting instantly to her elegantly clad figure, he saw Dirk leaning in close beside her, whispering something in her ear, and…

Touching her!

His fingers on her arm.

Kylo couldn’t help himself then.

Throwing his cards down and shooting up out of his chair which clattered to the floor behind him, he grabbed the edge of the card table and, eyes bulging – including the one behind the patch – and whole body shaking, roared across the table, “Get your damn hand off her before I rip you apart limb by limb!”

The whole establishment grew quiet then. The girl stared at him. Dirk stared at him. Everybody stared at him. But Kylo didn’t care. He was past the point in his life where he cared what other people thought of him.

Well, except for maybe one or two people…

But, at the moment, he was livid. And the only care he had at present wasn’t even about winning, it was about throwing the puny little man touching… _her_ …to the ground and pommeling him to a bloody pulp.

With his breathing heavy, Kylo repeated himself. “Get your dirty paw off her now or I am going to snap that scrawny little neck of yours.”

Without realizing it, he began to Force choke the man. And it wasn’t until he saw the guy grasping desperately at his throat and heard the girl shouting, “Stop!” did he realize he was doing so. Miraculously, however, no one else seemed to understand what had just happened. All anyone else saw was one young man shouting furiously at another young man about a girl. Nobody realized that when one of the young men started gasping and coughing violently it had anything to do with the altercation…let alone the Force. So when security showed up seconds later, there was nothing for them to do but tell Kylo that another outburst like that one would have him thrown out of the place and walk away.

Looking over at the girl, Kylo caught her regarding him with a mixture of anger and worry and he felt a sudden tightness in his stomach.

“What was all that about?” she demanded via their link. “You about hurt him!”

“I wasn’t trying to,” Kylo replied sourly.

Out loud, the girl said, “You need to calm down.”

Suddenly, Dirk spoke up, massaging at his neck. “Calm down?! _Calm down?!_ Is that maniac your boyfriend, lady? He doesn’t need to just calm down, he needs help!”

Kylo resisted the urge to grab his lightsaber, and instead opened his mouth to speak, but before he got even one word out, the girl looked at him, shook her head, and said so only he could hear, “Don’t.” Then, turning to Dirk, said in a gentle voice, “I’m sorry, Dirk, about all that. Are you okay?”

Dirk nodded, his hand still on his neck. “I’m okay, but I’ll be better when I’m away from him,” and he shot Kylo a nasty look. “You would be too,” he added, turning back to the girl. “A beautiful woman like you deserves a man who knows how to treat others with respect.” And with that, he was gone.

Kylo watched the girl until she turned back to him, as well as a whole crowd of other people, and then, seeing him watching her, she sighed and said quietly only to him, “Please just focus on the game.”

Kylo said nothing but lifted his head in a nod and slid down into his seat.

A tense minute or two later, after all his competitors scooted their chairs a little further away from him, the game began again. And perhaps it was because they were all a little shook up by Kylo’s outburst, or maybe just because they weren’t that great of players to begin with, but in a matter of no time at all the game was over and Kylo was the proud winner of ten thousand credits, double the amount it would take to buy the part needed for the lightsaber.

Within moments of collecting his earnings, Kylo and the girl were out of the casino.

* * *

 

**Rey**

When they were a suitable distance away from the gaming house, Rey pulled Ben over into an alley and stared at him, for lack of knowing what else to do.

After several moments of strained silence, she said, “What happened back there?” 

Ben released her hand – yes, they had been holding hands again – and crossed his arms. “I’m sure you have an idea,” he said in a rather growly voice.

“No,” Rey shook her head, “I don’t. All I know is that you became upset when some nice guy started talking to me-”

“That guy was a creep!” Ben cut in.

“No, he wasn’t!” Rey interjected.

“Yes,” Ben said slowly, “he was.” Then he uncrossed his arms and started running his hands through his hair; Rey watched entranced, despite herself. “That guy was – was –”

“He was what?!”

The young man’s face flushed and he said rather uncomfortably, “He was coming onto you!”

“He was –” Rey began, then stopped when she realized the full extent of her companion’s words, and allowed another silence to fall between them. After that, she began to shake her head, her face turning pink. “No, no, he was just being nice.”

“He was flirting with you,” Ben said, his voice stronger now, “and I –” Then he paused again.

“And you,” Rey prompted.

He said nothing but turned away.

Rey gazed at his back. She let a few heartbeats pass, then said in a soft voice, “You were worried about me, weren’t you?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” he replied, but didn’t elaborate any further.

“Ben,” she said, coming up beside him and gently lying a hand on his arm, “it is okay for me to talk to other people, you know? Not everyone is out to do harm.”

His shoulders drooped a little. “I – I know,” he said quietly, and Rey knew that somewhere deep inside of him there was a pain – most likely from his past – that affected his actions, his thoughts on certain things in some ways.

At least partially.

Today was probably a mixture of both that and…

She blushed at a sudden realization.

_Was Ben…had he been… jealous…? Because of her?_

A heat abruptly spread throughout her body at such a thought. And surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, she didn’t mind. Because, really, well…

It was something she was going to have to think more on later.

For the moment, she wanted to focus on simpler things: like building a light saber.

“Are you ready to go back to the market now?” she asked Ben, changing topics with ease.

He glanced at her, his one visible eye clear and bright, beautiful, and nodded his head.

Rey smiled and slipped her hand without hesitation into his. “Let’s go then,” she said. But before they had even taken two steps, she paused and looked down at herself. “But do you mind first if we stop by Ellen’s salon again? I think I left my other clothes there in your – uh – our hurry to leave.”

Ben smirked. “Of course,” he said, and turned them in the direction of the salon.


	20. Chapter 20

**Kylo**

Kylo slammed a fist down onto the counter of the small market booth, the light of the late afternoon sky just barely touching the fluttering merchant who ran it. “Here’s your five thousand credits,” he said, and he moved his hand to reveal a small, yet hefty pouch filled with credit chips.

The Toydarian shopkeeper eyed the bag with skepticism at first, but after he took a look inside, his gaze changed to one of awe immediately followed by a large smile. “Now we are talking business, yes,” he said. He slowly appraised Kylo. “I’m assuming you are still wanting the pieces you were interested in earlier?”

“Yes,” was Kylo’s response. And without further ado, the Toydarian handed the young man the aforementioned parts, then quickly pocketed the money used to purchase them.

Still grinning, the merchant looked at Kylo again. “Could I interest in you in anything else? This necklace for your lady friend perhaps?” and he held up a gaudy, aquamarine trinket that Kylo doubted there were very many people in the galaxy who would be caught wearing such an item.

“No,” he said, but then was surprised to hear the girl barely a second later say, “Yes.”

He looked at her. _She couldn’t possibly want that horrendous piece of metal could she?_

“No,” she said, as if she heard his thoughts. Then she blushed. “I mean, no, I’m not interested in the jewelry. But that droid back there…”

Kylo followed the girl’s gaze to where a banged-up, red and white astromech droid sat idle behind the shopkeeper, something he had not noticed on their previous visit to the stand. The Toydarian turned to look at the droid himself.

“That droid,” the merchant said. “That droid is a very recent acquisition of mine.” Unexpectedly, he frowned and his voice lost his salesman bravado as he muttered, “Not a very good purchase on my part either.”

“What’s wrong with it?” the girl asked.

Kylo raised his eyebrows. Was she seriously interested in buying the droid?

The Toydarian scratched at the side of his head. “Eh…Probably too much sand in its gears. It came from that desert wasteland Tatooine. I can’t get it running for anything. Piece of-.” Then, suddenly, he caught himself before finishing his thought, although Kylo had a pretty good idea of what it was, and resumed his peddler spiel as he said, “But if you’re interested in it, I could sell it to you at a generously reduced price.”

“If it’s such a worthless hunk of metal,” Kylo said, “why not give it to us for free.”

The merchant ran a hand along his jaw, his mouth forming into its usual smile. “I never said that. I said _I_ couldn’t get it to work. That doesn’t mean that _you_ couldn’t.”

Kylo rolled his eyes, but in his mind he could feel the girl’s interest in the little astromech seep its way into his thoughts.

“You want it, don’t you?” he said to her through their link.

She looked at him shyly, a hesitant half-smile forming on her lips. “Maybe…” she replied quietly.

Kylo shifted in place. They didn’t really need the droid. He and her were doing just fine on their own. And the money used to buy it could be better spent somewhere else probably…

_But_ , he thought, gazing at her lovely form, so radiant in her new clothes, _if she wanted it…_

__

“How much?” he grumbled to the hovering merchant.

The Toydarian beamed; as did the girl, Kylo couldn’t help but note. His heart beat a little faster at her smile.

“A hundred credits,” the shopkeeper replied.

“Twenty,” Kylo said, shaking his head, having expected the ridiculous amount. “The droid doesn’t work.”

“Eighty,” the Toydarian threw back, “It’s in good shape, if not a little sandy.”

“Forty. Sand that has likely caused damage to its mechanisms.”

“Sixty. My final offer.”

 _Sixty!_ Kylo grimaced. That old rust bucket didn’t look like it was worth ten credits in his opinion.

But the girl wanted it…

“Fine!” he growled, and digging into his pockets, he pulled out the appropriate amount of money and slapped it down onto the counter.

The girl immediately began clapping her hands with glee, and while the young man appreciated the sight of her happiness, he had another thing to consider…

Like how he was going to get the droid all the way back to the _Millennium Falcon_?!

* * *

 

**Rey**

“Thank you for doing this for me,” Rey said.

Ben looked her way, a sheen of sweat moistening his brow, his breathing heavy. Behind him, he pulled along the newly purchased astromech droid on a small, low tech cart he had purchased off a vendor in the market.

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled, his cheeks flushing, before turning away again.

Rey smiled. She was immensely enjoying their day in Theed, despite the odd hiccup that happened here or there in it.

She wondered what their next stop would hold for them.

“You haven’t told me where we’re going next,” she casually said to the young man beside her.

“And I’m not going to until we’re on the ship,” he replied.

Rey sighed. “Are we leaving Naboo then?” In truth, she wished they could stay on the little world. The planet intrigued her. She wanted to see more of it.

“We’re leaving here,” was the response. “And that’s all I’m going to say for now.”

Rey nodded, not really having expected a straight-up answer, and watched the hangar the _Falcon_ was stowed in come into view. He had his reasons for keeping secrets, she knew. She hoped she learned a few of them soon.

* * *

 

**Dirk**

Dirk watched the pretty woman smile at her dark-robed companion. The simple action made him wrinkle his nose in disgust.

What was it with women swooning over bad men?

 _Jerks, more like,_ he thought.

Dirk didn’t consider himself a bad guy. In fact, he thought he was a right decent chap. Always complimentative of the ladies. Always there to whisper sweet-nothings in their ears, caress their lovely bodies, and satisfy their heart’s longings…

A real ladies’ man he liked to think.

 _So why_ , he wondered as he turned his focus on the beautiful woman’s great galoot of a boyfriend, _did that brute get to have such an absolute stunner of a gal, and he was literally left gasping for air?_

It was pure galactic injustice.

He, Dirk, was the charmer, the seducer, the lover…

Not that overgrown thug with a penchant for violence. 

Because the lumbering oaf was violent. Dirk didn’t know exactly what he had done back there at the casino, but he had done something.

Something questionable.

All because Dirk had flirted a little with his girlfriend. Sure, he might’ve wanted to do a little more, but that was beside the point.

Suddenly, the young man realized the woman and her boyfriend were getting out of his line of vision. Exiting from the shadowy alcove he had tucked himself into, he hurried to another spot not far from the couple, and listened in interest as the woman asked the man where they were headed next.

His perked-up ears were disappointed, however, when the guy gave only a cryptic response.

Moments later, as the couple entered into a nearby hangar, Dirk ceased his pursuit of them. What he had hoped to accomplish by following them throughout the city he wasn’t sure – perhaps it was a hope of witnessing something incriminating in regard to the man so he could report him to authorities, but he hadn’t, so he had just observed them.

And it was more observing he did as he watched the ships departing Theed for the next hour, wondering which of the ones he saw was theirs. 

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey glanced out the _Millennium Falcon’s_ windows at the remote, yet beautiful rolling countryside before her – it was like she had been suddenly dropped in the painting at the visitor’s center from earlier in the day. Her heart leapt a little in her chest.

“We’re not leaving Naboo?” she turned to Ben who was sitting in the pilot’s chair beside her, eye patch now gone from his face.

“Not yet,” he answered in an even tone before a small smile slipped its way onto his lips.

He stood up and she followed suit, nearly crashing into him in the small space of the cockpit. A deep blush covered her cheeks, but Ben seemed not to notice as he waited for her to exit the tight area first.

Together they walked out to the main common area of the ship.

“So,” Rey said, nervously drumming her fingers on the back of a chair, “now what?”

Ben leaned up against a wall, staring at her curiously. The young woman instantly felt a little flustered by his gaze, but she didn’t break eye contact with him.

“Now,” Ben replied a moment or two later, “we rest. And then, tomorrow,” and he pushed himself away from the wall and strode up next to her, his eyes still boring intensely into hers, “we build you a lightsaber.”

Then he was gone, off to the galley, and Rey was left staring at the empty space where he had been feeling suddenly weak at the knees.


	21. Chapter 21

**Kylo**

For four days Kylo watched the girl labor over the task of constructing a lightsaber, a venture she undertook with a determination and focus he had come to expect from her. And for four days she waved off his help, other than allowing him to give her his lightsaber to use as a guide – something he didn’t even think twice about doing. 

Because she wanted to do it on her own.

And he respected that.

As such, he whiled away his time repairing the little droid they had purchased in Theed and exploring his nearby surroundings, which included miles upon miles of awe-inspiring meadows, hills, lakes, and woods.

But no people.

Just the very reason why he had chosen that particular part of the planet.

During one expedition out on the fourth day, the girl joined Kylo, claiming the need to stretch her limbs.

“It’s so beautiful here,” she said, rubbing a hand over her neck in a massaging motion, her eyes sweeping over a particularly stunning view of a field of lavenders underneath an amazing, clear blue sky. “I wonder what it would be like to grow up on a planet like this?”

The young man said nothing, but watched her hand knead her delicate skin, while the scent of lavender so strong in the air, whether from her or the plants, tickled his nose enticingly.

Abruptly, the girl turned to him. “Do you ever miss it?” she asked.

Jolted from his thoughts, Kylo gaped at her a moment then felt his face flush with heat. “Miss what?” he asked, embarrassed that she might have caught him staring at her. 

The girl sucked in her lower lip, clearly debating over what she wanted to say. For some unknown reason, Kylo suddenly had a strange sinking feeling develop in his stomach, dreading whatever was going to come out of her mouth.

“Miss – miss being a youngling?” she eventually said. “Miss your childhood?”

Kylo didn’t respond and felt his face slip into its old unreadable mask, hiding emotions he didn’t wish to share, even as he realized how hard it actually was to hide everything he was feeling from her.

The girl seemed not to notice, however, as her own eyes had a distant look to them, and, several heartbeats later, she said in a strangled sounding voice, “I do sometimes.”

Kylo instantly snapped himself out of his own pathetic wallowing and looked to the girl with a compassion that was no longer surprising to him.

“You miss Jakku?” he asked, his voice deeper than usual.

She shook her head. “No, it’s – it’s more I miss what could have been.” She bent over then and picked a clover from the ground and twiddled it in her fingers. “What came before Jakku.”

Kylo listened to her words, intrigued. She had never talked much about her past. Not that he had either, but…

He exhaled slowly. Him and the girl…their lives, their destinies – everything. It was all so intertwined. They truly were more alike than different.

“What came before Jakku?” Kylo repeated her words back to her.

The girl dropped the clover and looked at him, her eyes damp looking. “I don’t really remember,” she said, her voice a whisper. “But it was good. I’m certain about that.”

The young man held the girl’s gaze for another moment, then looked back out at the natural beauty that surrounded them – a beauty he remembered from his youth…

Picnics by crystal blue lakes. Hikes through forests of towering trees. Boat rides underneath a warm, golden sun. Seeing a rainbow in the mist of a waterfall.

A mother, a father, a little boy.

“Sometimes.” The words were a whisper, but Kylo knew the girl was listening as he said, “Sometimes I miss it.”

When he turned back to face the girl again, he found her staring at him in a knowing way. Then, without saying anything, she slipped her hand into his; in response, Kylo felt himself relax into her touch and felt a lump suddenly form in his throat. Whether because of his memories or the girl standing beside him he didn’t know, but for the first time in a long time, he realized he didn’t care that he was feeling emotions that at one time he would have considered a weakness.

“It wasn’t all bad then?” the girl said softly, more a statement than a question, her slender frame leaning slightly into him.

“No,” Kylo answered, enjoying the feeling of having her so close.

Several seonds passed, and Kylo allowed himself to indulge in the tender moment as long as he could, but he knew he also had to be honest with her too. So it was with much regret he disengaged himself from her and took a step away, and quietly added, “But it wasn’t all good either.”

The girl was quiet, but in his mind Kylo could feel her presence there. Not searching about looking for answers to his obscure response, but more as a comfort thing. He took heart in knowing she was with him.

“Will you tell me about it?” she asked eventually, gently.

Kylo ran a hand through his hair, thinking. This was it. The story they had been building up to this whole time together.

Was he ready?

“Yes,” he replied, turning back to her. “But not now. Not yet.” He looked over her shoulder back to where he could see the _Millennium Falcon_ in the distance. “First let’s finish your lightsaber.”

* * *

 

**Phasma**

Captain Phasma gazed down from her command shuttle at the blue and green world of Corellia. It had been a dead-end for her. Just as it had been when she had sent her troops there the first time around.

Disappointing.

_But that was that_ , she told herself, tearing her eyes away from the bustling Core planet. Time to move on. She’d report her findings, or lack thereof, to the General, and begin investigating the next world on her list.

This was her life.

A good one, but not one with time for anything but strict adherence to her orders.

All the same, she couldn’t help the tiny sigh that escaped her lips – which thankfully no one heard because of her helmet – as she turned to the nearest computer screen and looked at the coordinates for her and her team’s next destination.

Coruscant.

She wondered what importance that city-planet would hold for Master Ren. The General certainly hadn’t shared any details with her about why certain places had made his list, and it wasn’t her place to ask, but still the officer found herself wondering.

She pressed some buttons changing the computer screen to a different image and glanced at the planet on the list after Coruscant.

Naboo.

A pretty planet. She actually wouldn’t mind seeing it.

But only if Coruscant proved to be a failure, of course. She sincerely hoped it was not.

* * *

 

**Luke**

“Excuse me, sir. I was hoping to talk to you.”

Luke paused in a conversation he was having with Chewbacca about some restlessness the Knights of Ren were complaining of on the Resistance base – who wasn’t restless? – and was surprised to find the red-haired woman from the group of Stormtoopers standing near him.

Lifting his eyebrows at Chewie, he turned to the woman, quickly slipping his face into what he hoped was a neutral look. He may have been supportive of Finn about allowing the former soldiers of the First Order a second chance, but he still felt the need for caution. For her as much for him.

The redhead, on the other hand, wore an expression of pluck and resolve, and Luke found himself briefly wondering if she had been one of the troopers who had personally tried shooting at him on Ahch-To.

“I did,” she said, instantly causing the Jedi Master to snap his head back in shock. _What?!_

The redhead suddenly blushed the same shade as her hair. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “You’re thinking about Ahch-To. I can see it on your face as you look at me. Wondering if I took a shot at you. I’d be thinking the same thing if I were you,” and she blushed an even deeper red if that was possible. “I mean, I’m thinking about that magic explosion trick you did.”

Luke relaxed his head back into its normal position and said wryly, “And yet here we stand.”

“Indeed,” she said. Then she turned to Chewbacca and added in a surprisingly casual manner, “Nice bowcaster by the way. Deadly accurate. One of a kind, I assume?”

The Wookie let out a short growl. The woman frowned clearly not understanding Shyriiwook, so Luke interpreted saying, “It’s a favored weapon among his people.”

The redhead nodded in understanding, then a silence fell between them. Luke took the opportunity to study the woman. He had seen her around the base with Finn and the other former captives, but he had yet to meet any of them until now.

She was close to Ben’s age, he guessed, maybe a year or two older, but she had an air about her of someone who had seen more than most people do in a lifetime. Luke also sensed a strong feeling of capability and pride from her – like she was somebody a person would want on his team in a fight…somebody the Resistance would want…

And, on a more personal note, the Jedi Master couldn’t help but observe her eyes were a dazzling green, and that, mixed with her red hair, if he had been a younger man he probably would have been quite taken with her. He had a secret fondness for redheads.

As it was, though, he wasn’t young, much to his aging body’s chagrin.

“And how can I help you –?” Luke looked expectantly at the woman, at a loss for what she was called. Surely she still wasn’t going by her Stormtrooper identification. He thought he had overheard Finn a couple of days ago referring to some of the others from her group with names, but he wasn’t certain.

“Chrys,” she promptly responded with a certain amount of pleasure. “My name is Chrys. Short for Chrysanthemum.”

Chewie let out a soft bark and Luke quickly translated, “Chewbacca says he likes your name. And he says he likes you. Even if you did try shooting at us.”

Chrys rubbed at her arm, embarrassed. “Uh…thanks.” Then she grimaced and added, “And sorry about all that on Ahch-To. I was just following orders…”

Luke waved her off. “What’s done is done. And I think it’s safe to say, at least according to Finn, that life is behind you…?”

She nodded her head vigorously. “It is,” she said. “That’s why I came to talk to you.” She paused for a few seconds, then continued in a more passionate voice saying, “I want to do more than picking up trash and cleaning droids all day. I want to help. Really help!” She blushed. “It’s not that those aren’t worthy jobs, it’s just…I can be of real service here. Truly. The First Order trained me in many capacities – things which I believe may be of assistance to this operation.”

“The Resistance,” Luke said rather pointedly in reference to ‘this operation’, “to the First Order.”

“Yes!” she agreed, almost throwing the word at him. 

Luke couldn’t help but admire her no-nonsense spunk.

“Listen,” she said, “I’m serious about this. Finn…he’s been nice. A friend. A good person. Someone who believed in me and gave me a chance – who pretty much saved my life – something I can’t say I would have done had I been in his place. And now…now I want to pay back that kindness.”

Luke ran his hand over his beard. She certainly sounded sincere about her intentions.

“What kind of skills are we talking about?” he asked.

The woman didn’t smile, but her eyes lit up with something akin to gladness. “Technical,” she replied. “I’m good with computers.” Then, after a moment’s hesitation, she added, “I’m also decent with a blaster…if you can believe it.”

Luke felt his lips quirk a little. “I could,” he replied, and Chewbacca reached over and ruffled his hair.

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey ran her hand over the cool metallic cylinder of her almost-completed lightsaber and took a moment to watch Ben several feet away tinkering with the little astromech droid. Even hunched over and kneeling the young man cut a fine figure, and she couldn’t help but admire his darkly-attired, well-muscled physique. It just drew her eye like a kind of magnet.

How strange it was to see him, though, this dark prince of the galaxy, doing something so mundane as repairing a piece of machinery, but on the other hand, it wasn’t at all to her. It felt normal, routine, familiar.

Everything about him felt that way to her.

And she liked it.

_She liked him._

The young woman blushed and looked back down at her own work. What was happening to her?

_Nothing_ , she realized. It wasn’t anything that she didn’t already know. Had known…

Suddenly, loud beeping noises filled the air, and she instantly snapped her eyes back toward Ben and the droid-

The droid!

It was working!

“You did it!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

Ben smiled. Not a big, toothy grin, but a simple one that showed pleasure and pride in his accomplishment. The young woman felt her heart melt a little at the sight of it.

She walked over by him and translated the droid’s beeps quickly realizing he didn't understand Binary. “He says his name is R5-D4.”

Rey greeted the astromech in turn and introduced herself and Ben to it. “We’re very glad to have you with us,” she added, thinking briefly of BB-8 and not realizing until just that moment how much she missed having the little droid companion around.

Thinking about BB-8, however, made her immediately start thinking about other people, and she had to stop herself from letting her thoughts carry her away. How strange, though. When she had first been dragged along on this adventure, she wanted nothing more than to get away from Ben and return to her friends. Now she didn’t want to sidetrack herself with the difficulties thoughts of them brought her.

_Soon though_ , she told herself. It was high time she communicated with them. Staring at Ben out of the corner of her eye, she didn’t believe he would object. Not now, at least. In the beginning of their journey together, definitely, but now…

She patted the young man gently on his back, congratulated him on his achievement which he seemed to take great enjoyment in – like compliments were still something he wasn’t used to hearing, and walked back to her work area.

It was time for her to finish her own project.

Settling back into place, she immediately set to work, allowing some innate sense to guide her in the creating process – one that had aided her the whole way through.

A short time later, though, after he had given R5-D4 a thorough cleaning, Ben sat down next to her. 

He didn’t say anything, however, just stared out at their beautiful surroundings, quietly contemplative, and Rey found herself without even thinking about it relaxing into his side, her work on her saber never ceasing even with the slight movement. Somewhere nearby, birds began to sing and a slight breeze wafted gently through, tickling the hairs on the back of the young woman’s neck. Bugs chirruped and tree branches swayed. Clouds moved lazily by overhead and the sun sunk lower in the sky.

And it was in that sliver of paradise, Rey slipped the last part into place and turned the last screw of her new lightsaber.

Then it was done.

And all was still.

She leaned deeper into the young man next to her and stared at the piece of metal in her hands, a satisfaction like she had never known before coursing through her.

The feeling must have been so strong, Ben easily picked up on it through their link and said quietly, “It’s finished?”

“Yes,” she whispered back, knowing somehow deep inside her that it was.

Neither made any movement to stand up. Instead, the two just let time drift by, doing nothing other than just existing in the presence of each other, breathing in the rich Naboo air and feeling more at peace than either could remember feeling in a long time.

And so they remained until the sun finally set itself off in the horizon.

Then, finally, Ben straightened himself and rose to his feet; Rey immediately felt the sudden temperature change from where his warm body had been moments before and wished with a little sadness that their closeness could have lasted just a tiny bit longer.

But she instantly smiled, however, when he offered his hand out to her and helped her to her feet.

“I’m ready to see that lightsaber now,” the young man said, his hand slowly sliding from hers.

“Me too,” she replied suddenly shy, her fingers tingling from his touch. She raised her eyes to his and found him staring at her with an intensity that made the rest of her body tingle.

Rey took a deep breath to steady herself, then ripped her eyes away and focused her attention on the slim weapon in her hand.

And she activated it…

And watched as two brilliant beams of light shot forth from her newly crafted double-bladed lightsaber – beams of an amazing yellow gold.

Like Naboo’s brilliant sun.

Like the sands of Jakku.

Like the sash on her new dress.

Like her own personal color of hope.

Rey flicked her eyes toward Ben and saw him observing her, his face unreadable.

“It’s good?” she asked him.

There was a long silent pause.

Then…

“It’s brilliant,” he responded, but instead of elaborating any further, he reached toward his belt and drew his own lightsaber forth. “But your training is not yet complete.” And he activated his weapon.

Rey smiled, holding her new lightsaber out before her. “Then by all means,” she said, “let’s continue.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Kylo**

Kylo rolled quickly to his left and swung his lightsaber up just in time to block the bright golden beam aiming straight for his chest. Kicking one of his long legs out he connected with a solid object and, jerking his head around, watched as said object went crashing to the ground. Swiftly, he clambered to his feet and whipped himself in the direction of his attacker, who, with cat-like agility, was already rising to her feet, a large frown creasing her brow.

“You can’t just count on your opponent to lie there compliant on the ground,” Kylo tossed at her, holding his blade up to parry the blows she immediately began to rain down upon him. “If he’s staring death in the face, he’s going to fight back and he’s going to be looking for any way to do it.”

The girl let out a growling sound and suddenly made a great lunge for him. Kylo braced for the impact of her strike, and, when it came, threw all his muscle into knocking her back. Succeeding, he took the opportunity to start taking some swings of his own, unbalancing her and finally putting her on the defensive.

Finding a rhythm, he started pushing the girl back a little every time their blades crossed. When he took a step forward, she took a step back. And again and again…

“And never forget about taking advantage of your surroundings,” he said as he backed her right up into a tree, their sabers pressed together. They were so close Kylo could see sweat streaming down her face, observe the sharp rise and fall of her shoulders as she took deep gulps of air, and notice the lovely shade of red of her trembling lips…

Abruptly, the young man pulled away and deactivated his blade, feeling like all the blood in his body was suddenly rushing to his face.

The girl stared at him questioningly for a heartbeat or two, then did likewise with her own saber.

“Are you feeling okay?” she asked, her voice hoarse but concerned.

Kylo turned away and started pulling at the collar of shirt which suddenly felt rather tight like it was choking him.

“Yes,” he forced out, hoping he didn’t sound as edgy as he felt. “Just a little hot.”

“Then take off that coat you’re wearing,” she replied surprisingly anxious sounding. “Dark colors absorb the most heat in the sun. Everyone knows that.”

Kylo ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe you’re right,” he said without looking at her. He shrugged off his topmost layer and tossed it onto the ground. A moment later he sank down in the grass next to it.

The girl continued to look worried and Kylo couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

“Are you sure you’re fine?” she said. “Maybe you should go into the _Falcon_ and cool off in there.”

“I’m fine,” he said rather brusquely. Then he looked at her and was deeply touched by the true concern he saw etched on her face. “Really,” he added in a gentler tone.

She sat down next to him. “If you’re certain,” she said. Then, from wherever, she suddenly produced a canteen and handed it to him. “But at least drink this.”

Kylo took the proffered container, his fingers brushing hers, and took a generous sip of the liquid inside. When finished, he handed the canteen back to the girl and watched her lift it to her own mouth. 

To her pretty, sweet lips…

He ripped his eyes away from the girl and lifted them toward the cloud filled sky above.

 _Snoke_ , he thought, pulling up an image of his former master, forcing himself to think about a topic that didn’t send his body into any sort of giddy frenzy. The complete opposite actually.

The Supreme Leader. 

_His enemy._

The reason they were out there practicing with lightsabers in the first place – something he desperately needed to remind himself of. This wasn’t some kind of romantic getaway, this was preparation time for a fight.

And he needed to remember that.

He blinked his eyes grown dry from staring.

 _A couple more days,_ he told himself. A couple more days and then he would begin making plans. The girl was making amazing progress with her lightsaber skills – she was a natural, of course, but he wanted to teach her a few more things involving the Force.

If all else failed…her lightsaber, the _Falcon_...

Him…

She needed to understand the Force never would.

Suddenly, Kylo jerked his head to the right feeling something pulling at his sleeve.

“Hey, daydreamer,” the girl said, her fingers gently twisting the material of his shirt. “If you’re okay, I think I’m going to head back to the ship myself and freshen up some.”

Ignoring the quivery feeling in his stomach as a result of her touch, Kylo nodded his head, careful to keep his gaze fixed firmly on her eyes.

The girl rose to leave, thoughtfully leaving her canteen by his side first, then suddenly paused. 

“Ben,” she said, her voice hesitant, instantly causing Kylo to snap his eyes once again in her direction. He was surprised to find she looked strangely pale, and something about her posture unsettled him.

“When I go back to the _Falcon_ , would you – do you think…” Her speech faltered some, but she continued, saying, “Would you mind if I sent a message to your mo-…to the Resistance…telling them that we’re…that I’m okay?”

Suddenly, Kylo felt cold, and slowly he pulled his eyes away from her and stared at the verdant green landscape beyond, a place seemingly untouched by the cruel hands of the powers at work in the galaxy.

He wished he could say the same for himself.

The young man shifted uncomfortably feeling the girl’s gaze resting upon him, waiting for his answer. He didn’t know what to tell her, however. Well, yes, he did, but he was absolutely certain that was not going to go over well. Not to mention make him look like a controlling creep.

And really, was what she requested that big of a deal?

He exhaled noisily.

“Do not tell them our location or what we’re doing,” he said flatly without looking at her; he didn’t need to, though, he could feel the girl’s excitement through their link. “And,” he added a beat or two later, “make sure it’s encrypted.”

The girl said nothing, and just when he thought she was leaving, he suddenly felt her hand on his shoulder, followed by a long pause. Finally, she whispered, “Thank you,” and then she did depart.

* * *

**Phasma**

Captain Phasma flicked her eyes from the datapad in her hand to the massive building rising upward and outward before her. An enormous structure comprised of pillars and spires and balconies and an artistry of such a degree that only a very few other places in the galaxy could be compared with it. 

It was an architectural wonder of a different age. And for good reason: it was the former Imperial Palace. The seat of the late Emperor Palpatine.

And, more importantly, as she had come to learn from a recent acquaintance who was old enough to remember such things, the one-time site of a Jedi Temple.

 _The_ Jedi Temple. Or the main one at least. The headquarters.

And the reason perhaps General Hux had included Coruscant on the list of planets for her to investigate, hoping Kylo Ren would turn up on a world seeped in a history that only he would care about.

 _But, alas_ , the Captain sighed, _it wasn’t looking like it_. She had been in the city-planet for two days and other than receiving a lesson on the past, she uncovered nothing in regard to the whereabouts of the wayward Knight.

Forty-eight hours was too short of a time to give up, however.

“Captain,” one of Phasma’s troops suddenly appeared by her side. “The shuttle is ready to depart whenever you are.”

Which was why she was leaving some of her subordinates to finish the task while she headed onto Naboo.

Yes, she had promised General Hux to personally attend to each of the planets on his list, and she would, but she also had to know when to make a judgment call on a situation that lacked desired results.

This was one of them.

The Captain powered down her datapad and followed the troop to the aforementioned ship, trying but failing to suppress the feeling of eager anticipation she felt about going to Naboo.

 _Perhaps that feeling was a good thing_ , she reasoned.

* * *

 

**Leia**

Leia couldn’t believe her eyes: it was a message from Rey.

“When did this arrive?” she asked C-3PO who hovered excitedly nearby.

“Approximately five minutes ago, General,” the droid responded. “I took it upon myself to deliver it straight to you.”

Leia looked at the small slip of paper in her hand and her heart began to pound wildly in her chest. The message didn’t say much, but it gave her an extreme sense of relief, as well as a crazy feeling of optimism. Something her life was in desperate need of.

Suddenly, someone knocked softly at her office’s door and Luke came walking into the room a moment later. Only her twin would have the nerve in the whole base to do such a thing…

“News,” Leia waved the message in the air at her brother, unbothered by his uninvited appearance. It was Luke after all. “From Rey.”

She handed the paper to her twin and watched as his eyes quickly scanned the brief communication.

“They’re okay, Luke,” Leia couldn’t help the emotion that filled her voice then. “They. She has to be referring to her and Ben.” The General took a deep breath and looked with misty eyes toward her office’s window. Outside, a warm sunny day played before her. “I know this,” she continued. “Somewhere deep inside of me I know this. I can feel it.”

Luke nodded solemnly then handed the paper back to her. “That’s the Force, Leia.” He scrutinized her briefly, then added, “You’re much more powerful with it than you give yourself credit for. You should have allowed me to train you…”

The General smiled sadly. Her and her brother had been over this topic a million times. While he had had his abilities that needed honed and developed, she had had a galaxy that needed help being organized and run.

As if somehow sensing his sister’s train of thoughts, Luke abruptly steered their conversation back to the main subject as he asked, “Do you know where the message came from?”

It was Threepio who answered. “Unfortunately no, Master Luke. I was not immediately able to ascertain such information, possibly in part due to the message having been sent encrypted.”

“Which isn’t going to stop us from trying anyway,” Leia said. “We’ve faced tougher odds before. You should know that, Threepio”

The protocol droid straightened looking from Leia to Luke. “Yes, Prin-…er…General. With your permission I will continue to work to decipher the origin of Miss Rey’s communication.”

Leia nodded her head and the droid scuttled quickly from the room. Then she turned to her brother and found him staring at her with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“What?” she asked.

He stroked his beard, his blue eyes giving nothing away of what was on his mind. “About that message from Rey,” he said. “I may know someone who might also be able to help us with it.”

Leia raised her eyebrows.

“Who?”

* * *

 

**Phasma**

Captain Phasma stepped from her shuttle and glanced about at the city surrounding her. Compared to Coruscant, Theed was a country village. But a pretty country village. And she was uncharacteristically excited to be there.

Nodding her head at her troops to follow her, she led the way into the elegant city, prepared to start another round of investigations.

Hopefully the last.

And, just like on Coruscant, she had a good feeling about it.


	23. Chapter 23

**Poe**

Poe Dameron watched interestedly as humans, aliens, and droids alike rushed anxiously around the Resistance base’s control room, flitting from one computer screen to another, punching in codes and buttons faster than he could shoot a blaster. Maps were displayed from one wall to the next and chatter buzzed constantly.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

However, off in one corner he observed the General, her brother, Finn, Chewbacca, and a few others clustered close together around a couple of consoles. 

And that was.

Having just arrived back on planet from a relatively quick trip to the Core, the Commander suddenly felt strangely out of the loop.

Odd, since he felt like he was the one who was in the know…

“Come on, BB-8,” he said to the small spherical droid companion next to him. “Let’s find out what all the fuss over there is about.”

He approached the small group. “General, ma’am,” he said, respectfully, “anything going on here I should know about?”

General Organa turned her head slowly toward him, her eyes alert, her back straight, her stance commanding. Others in the group also glanced his way.

“Poe!” Finn said in greeting, an excitement to his voice that made the pilot even more curious about what was up.

“Hello, Poe,” the General said more formally. “How long have you been back?”

“Minutes, ma’am,” he replied. “I came here looking to discuss something with you.” He shot his eyes around the small group gathered together. “But it looks like you might have some news for me.”

“It’s Rey!” Finn exclaimed, not realizing in his enthusiasm that he had just cut off the General, and also immediately sending BB-8 into a flurry of excited beeping. “General Organa received a message from her. Threepio and Chrys are working to figure out where it was sent from.” Finn jabbed his finger toward two figures hunched over some screens. Sure enough, one of them was the General’s golden protocol droid, and the other was the redheaded stormtrooper Poe had seen Finn hanging around with a lot lately.

_Rey?!_

Poe conjured up an image of the sweet girl from the backwater world of Jakku. They hadn’t really gotten to know each other during her brief stay at the base, but she had certainly made an impression on those who had spent more time with her.

General Organa definitely being one of those people.

“Any clues yet?” Poe asked.

Friends, acquaintances, whatever…the young woman had become a member of the Resistance, and anyone in the Resistance was like family, so naturally the pilot was more than a little interested in her whereabouts. When Master Skywalker, Chewbacca, and all the others suddenly showed up at the base sans her, eyebrows had definitely been raised and questions asked, but real answers never given. Poe had heard some rumors, but he had never put much stock in the gossip mill, so he had ignored them. He had considered asking Finn at one point if he knew anything, but the other young man had been so preoccupied with his injuries and all the business with the Stormtroopers that he never asked. But now he was beginning to wonder a little…

“Naboo!” a voice the Commander was unfamiliar with suddenly cried. The redhead. Chrys. “The message was sent from the planet Naboo.”

“You’re correct, Miss Chrys,” C-3PO said, looking over the woman’s shoulder at a computer screen of a bunch of numbers, letters, and symbols that made not a lick of sense to Poe. “Miss Rey’s communication did indeed originate from Naboo.”

Poe glanced over in time to see the General and her brother share a look that he had an idea there was a whole story behind.

“So let’s go there then,” Finn said rolling his shoulders and tapping his feet, clearly ready to be on the next ship off the base.

Poe raised his hands in the air before him. “Whoa,” he said. “Hold on a minute. Can someone please tell me what exactly is going on here?” He looked around at the others’ faces; some of them were just as confused as he was. “So Rey is on Naboo. Okay. So what exactly does that mean?”

Finn opened his mouth, then abruptly closed it, his forehead suddenly creased in a frown. Poe raised his eyebrows, then looked to the General for answers. She merely sighed and said, “It could mean many different things.” She glanced once again at Skywalker, then back at him. “What was it you wanted to discuss with me?”

The pilot scratched at his head, knowing full well the General had just side-stepped his question. He inwardly shrugged at the subject change, but wondered if what he was about to share with the General would relate to the previous topic in any way.

“It’s the First Order,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “I caught sight of some Stormtroopers when I was in Coruscant. Apparently they’ve been doing some planetary investigations. Headed up by the one known as Captain Phasma.”

It was Master Skywalker who responded to this news. “What exactly are they investigating?”

Poe looked at the older man. “Maybe ‘searching’ would be the better word to use,” he replied. “They’re searching for someone.”

Who?” the General asked, a tightness to her voice, almost as if she anticipated what his answer was going to be.

Poe let a few heartbeats pass, the air suddenly filled with tension, and said, “The one known as Kylo Ren.”

The jackass who had nearly killed him.

Suddenly a lightbulb went off in the Commander’s head. _Sweet Galaxy!_ How had he not made the connection sooner?!

Ren. Kylo Ren. The Knights of Ren. The very guys bumming around the base with Chewbacca and Skywalker.

Was Rey with him?!

What the hell was going on?!

Poe’s eyes snapped to the General whom he found was watching him with a mixture of apprehension and challenge. She knew he knew. And she seemed okay with this situation – with an innocent young woman off with a known tyrant. As did Skywalker. And Chewbacca. 

The only one who didn’t seem fine with it was Finn, as evident by the rage Poe could tell was simmering in the young man’s eyes, and as he said, “All the more reason why we need to go find Rey right now!”

Poe waited for General Organa or Master Skywalker to say something, but was surprised when Chrys abruptly stood up and said, “I agree with Finn. If the First Order is searching for Master Ren, they won’t stop until they find him. Even if it means checking out every known planet in the galaxy. I – I should know,” she finished, her cheeks flaming red.

And thus putting Rey directly in harm’s way.

“Thank you, Chrys,” Finn said, clapping his hand on the redhead’s shoulder. 

Poe looked to the General for her response, but still she said nothing. She turned her back to them and walked away a few steps then paused. 

And all was quiet.

Then…

“Luke,” the General addressed her brother, her voice strained. “You said once that you thought the Force had plans for Rey and…” Abruptly she stopped and let her sentence dangle. Poe looked at her back, waiting for her to finish her thought, but instead listened slightly confused and disappointed, at what he didn’t know, as she simply said, “Do you still think that?”

“Yes,” the Jedi Master answered, obviously knowing what she was asking, even if Poe had no idea. He chalked it up to a twin thing.

The General turned back around, looking directly at her brother, and asked, “So what should we do?”

Poe observed Finn bouncing on the balls of his feet, anxious, but the young man said nothing, and they all listened as their older companion replied, “We go to them. Find them. Before the First Order.”

Suddenly, the astromech droid R2-D2 who had been sitting there quiet the whole time began to beep, knocking himself into C-3PO’s golden legs. All eyes immediately turned their way.

“Yes, Artoo,” Threepio said turning back to the computer in front of him, “I’ll take a look.” The protocol droid punched some more numbers and letters into the machine, and a moment or two later turned excitedly back around. “Master Luke,” he said, “Princess Leia, I have discovered the exact coordinates of where Miss Rey is.” Artoo beeped and rammed into Threepio again. “Ah, yes,” Threepio quickly added, “with a helpful suggestion from Artoo.”

“Perfect,” Finn said. “Now let’s get going!” Chewbacca let out a growl in agreement.

“Hold up,” Poe said, admiring his friend’s exuberance for the task but also knowing they needed to approach the situation practically. Especially if it involved Kylo Ren – something he couldn’t say he was all too thrilled about. What had happened to the good old days of clear-cut good versus evil? “This is going to take a little planning. We can’t just run all helter-skelter into this.”

“I agree,” General Organa commented, “which is why I will be personally attending on this venture.”

Suddenly, everyone grew quiet; Poe met Skywalker’s eyes across the way and saw an apprehension there that he himself was feeling.

“Leia,” the Jedi began, but was cut off immediately as his sister said, “Don’t ‘Leia’ me, Luke! You may be the older of us, but I’m the one in charge here. If I want to go on this stinking mission, I’m going to, and there’s nothing you can do to make me say otherwise! That’s my s-”

“I know, Leia!” Skywalker said quickly, once again preventing Poe from hearing a piece of information that he had a feeling was somehow very important. “Which is the very reason I don’t think you should be going.”

“Why?!” the General snapped back, angrier than Poe had ever seen her. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a few other heads in the control room starting to look over at their group. “Because of what happened at Starkiller?!”

“Maybe a little,” Skywalker replied, and with a sigh added, “but mainly because I think you are just too emotionally involved in this.”

General Organa stared daggers at her twin for a moment, then turned away, silent, composed, but furious.

Poe felt it was time for him to give his opinion that was most probably an entirely different reason than the one the Jedi Master was giving.

“General,” he said reverently. “While I don’t know all of what Master Skywalker is talking about, I do agree with him. And to repeat something you said earlier: You are in charge around here. _You._ And you know better than anyone the responsibility that comes with that.” He took a deep breath, watching the General for any sign of acknowledgement of what he was saying, and plunged on. “You are the blood of this operation. Its lifeline. Its anchor. You keep it floating when others would have let it sink. And for that reason, I implore you to reconsider what you’re saying. Because the Resistance needs you. Here. Not out there delivering yourself into who knows what kind of mess. If we lost you…”

He didn’t finish the thought. He didn’t need to. The General was nodding her head, a single tear escaping her eye.

“You’re right,” she said, her voice cracking. “Both of you.” Chewie wrapped an arm around her. “I’m being selfish.”

“No, you’re not,” her brother replied. “You’re being the caring, loving person you’ve always been.”

In the end, it was decided that Poe would lead the mission to Naboo assisted by several of his fellow pilots. Finn, Skywalker, Chewbacca and the Knights of Ren, as well as a surprised and hesitant Chrys also accompanied them.

It was with a heavy but relieved heart Poe watched the General’s small frame fade from his view as he departed Endor, wondering in what kind of shape he’d see her again.

* * *

 

**Dirk**

Dirk watched from the shadows of the bar he had recently vacated as a group of Stormtroopers walked slowly by; men, women, and children scurried to get out of their way, wondering aloud to each other in hushed tones about the presence of the First Order soldiers in their fair city.

Dirk didn’t wonder, though. He knew why they were in Theed. He had seen a piece on a television just minutes ago broadcasting their arrival, stating their business.

They were on a manhunt for a missing person. No one he had ever heard of or seen before, but still…

He raised his hand to his neck then and rubbed at a remembered squeezing soreness. Like someone’s hands had been on his throat…

Only there hadn’t been. Just an angry, brutish lunatic swathed in black with a scary scar cutting across his face.

He wondered what the First Order would make of that sort of information.

Sucking in a deep gulp of air, he stepped away from the safety of the shadows and sauntered over to the nearest Stormtrooper. 

Five minutes later, said Stormtrooper was pulling him along to his commanding officer, a tall, silver-armored figure decked out with a fine black cape.

“Captain,” the soldier saluted, “this man claims to have information about a person of interest.”

The Captain turned to Dirk and he smiled what he hoped was a winning kind of smile.

“Speak,” the officer commanded, and Dirk found himself momentarily caught off-guard. That voice was not a man’s.

“You’re a – a woman,” he squeaked out, his eyes bulging with immediate interest. And what a woman she was! She had to be over six feet tall! And a high-ranking officer in the First Order! Now that was a lady who knew her business.

The Captain said nothing right away but adjusted the blaster in her arms that Dirk only then noticed. After a long pause, during which the young man felt his heart begin to pound with a strange kind of excitement, she said, “Speak your piece, fool, or I’m going to be the last woman you ever lay your eyes on.”

Dirk grinned even bigger. Forget the pretty girlfriend of the casino thug guy. Now this was his kind of gal. If only he could see what she looked like underneath the helmet…

“At your service, my lady,” he said a beat later, dipping his head in acquiescence, and he proceeded to inform the officer of his recent experience at the game hall with the beastly man.

When he was done, the Captain nodded her head. “Very good,” she said. “The First Order will find this information very interesting.” Dirk beamed. “Is there anything else you have to share.”

Dirk scrunched up his forehead in thought. He wasn’t ready for this conversation to end just yet. “Well, I did follow the guy and his girlfriend afterward for a little while.” 

Silence.

“And?” the officer prompted, apparently not caring how creepy such a thing to do sounded. Dirk found himself liking her more and more.

“And they went to a hangar,” he replied. “I can tell you a list of the ships I saw fly out of there if you’d like to know.”

“Please,” the Captain said, and reaching to a belt at her waist she suddenly produced a small recording device.

For the next few minutes, Dirk described every ship he saw depart from the hangar. When he was done, he looked to the officer expectantly.

“Thank you,” she said brusquely. “You have been a service to the First Order.” And without further ado, she turned to leave.

“Wait!” Dirk called a little miffed. He couldn’t just let her walk away. Surely that couldn’t be it. 

And, as he hoped, the Captain stopped and turned around; he instantly broke out into another huge smile.

“Do you have something else to add?” she asked.

Dirk blushed a little. This was it. His moment. What could he say?

“Do you think you could remove your helmet for me?” he asked. “You know, as a kind of reward for helping you.”

A second later, a hard, metal fist connected with his jaw, sending him sprawling onto the pavement.

Propping himself up onto his elbow, the young man watched as the Captain and her troops moved away without so much as a backward glance. He continued watching them until they were out of sight, then he let himself collapse onto his back, the only thing in his vision then the sky.

“What a woman,” he said aloud, ignoring the pedestrian traffic that was once again picking up around him now that the First Order had departed the area. “What a woman…”

* * *

 

**Hux**

“I am pleased to report, sir,” Captain Phasma addressed Hux via hologram, “that we may have received information today that actually suggests a verified sighting of Master Ren. A recent one too.”

General Hux absorbed this information with relish. Finally. _Finally._ Progress was being made.

About time too.

He looked at a nearby computer screen and saw that the Captain’s current location was the capitol city of Theed in Naboo. It was a good thing that he had compiled that list of planets for the officer to investigate, otherwise the search may not have made it to the Mid-Rim planet in time.

It still might not be in time.

“What precisely is this information, Captain?” Hux asked.

“A local,” Phasma replied, “reported to me today of being attacked by a tall, darkly clad individual at a casino a number of days ago.”

Hux frowned. Such a description could fit a trillion different people. He was going to need something more definitive that that if he was supposed to believe it was Kylo Ren.

“Surely this _local_ said more than that, hm?” the General said, unable to help the sneer that curled his lips. “Because I am afraid, Captain, that information gives us exactly nothing to go on.”

Phasma seemed unperturbed by his rebuke; not that he could tell, though, since she was wearing her helmet as always.

“The man said he was choked, sir,” she responded. She let a few moments pass, then added, “But no one laid a finger on him.”

Hux stared at the Captain’s hologram. Now _that_ was something.

“What else did this man have to tell you?” he asked, an annoying eagerness to his voice.

“He gave me a list of possible ships they –” Phasma began, but Hux interrupted her as soon as he heard the word ‘they.’

“‘They?’” he said. “Who is ‘they,’ Captain?’”

“Apparently there was a woman with the man at the casino.”

A woman?! Well, this made things rather interesting. The Supreme Leader would be most fascinated to learn this, because as far as Hux knew, there were no women in Ren’s life.

Suddenly, the General’s thoughts flicked back to the ill-fated Starkiller. To right before its destruction. To a certain girl Ren had become rather obsessed with…

“Send me that list, Captain,” he said abruptly.

Phasma nodded her head, appeared to press some buttons on her end and, moments later, Hux heard a beep on his computer indicating he had a new message. Opening it, he saw a short but detailed description of various ships.

Corellian YT model freighter immediately jumped out at him.

“The freighter,” he said excitedly. “That one. Find it. Whatever it takes. Do flyovers of all Naboo if you have to.” 

Of course there was good chance the ship had departed to the farthest reaches of the galaxy by this point. But, he hoped, perhaps not. And if he knew anything about the sentimental Ren, there was a decent shot of this being the case. If not, at least they had a lead.

“Yes, sir,” Phasma replied. “Will there be anything else?”

“Nothing for now. But contact me the moment you learn anything of value,” Hux answered. He paused for a moment, thinking. Suddenly, he made a snap decision. “I will be heading toward Naboo as soon as possible.”

And with that, he ended their conversation, Phasma’s image instantly disappearing from view.

A moment later, the General squared his shoulders and turned around to face the two men standing behind him: His recent and unexpected _guests_.

They were garbed from head to toe in red, leaving not a speck of skin or any other identifiable body parts showing. Their faces were covered by masks and in their hands they wielded formidable looking staffs.

And they were about as friendly as a rancor.

“Well,” Hux said coldly, “Would you like to inform the Supreme Leader of this most recent development, or shall I?”

Neither man answered. At exactly the same time, however, they bowed toward him in what he could only assume to be a mocking gesture, then departed without a word.

When they were gone, the General’s left eye began to twitch.


	24. Chapter 24

**Rey**

It was probably a frivolous thing to do, wearing her fancy new dress in the middle of the country which no one was around to see, but Rey couldn’t help herself. She felt like being a little frivolous, and it wasn’t entirely true that there was nobody else in the area.

Ben was.

Instantly, the young woman felt her cheeks warm.

Ben…

Everything always came back to him. Literally everything. Really, if she thought deeply enough about it, if it wasn’t for him, there was a chance she might still be on Jakku scavenging old parts for Unkar Plutt.

She shivered. A lifetime of servitude to Unkar Plutt. Hopefully that would not have been the case forever.

But the realization just further cemented for her the connection that her and Ben shared. It was more than just the fact that they knew the same people or flew around in a ship that had a history they were both now a part of.

It was something deeper. Much, much deeper.

It was – 

The door to the sleeping quarters where she had sequestered herself for the past twenty minutes to change suddenly slid open.

“Are you ever coming out…?”

Ben froze in the doorway; his frame entirely filling the small space. He let his sentence fade into a whisper as his eyes slowly took in the sight of the young woman before him.

For her part, Rey felt a lovely blush creep its way across her face again. Swiftly finding her composure, however, she straightened her back and said, “Didn’t you ever learn to knock before entering a room?”

Either ignoring her question or not hearing it, Ben said in a soft voice, “Your hair is down…”

And that did it. All self-possession went out the window again as Rey reached a hesitant hand up to brush at some locks hanging loose around her ears.

_Now what was she supposed to say?!_

But she didn’t have to say anything; Ben did for her.

“Come on,” he said a tad gruffly, “I thought you might like to go for a walk.”

“Oh,” Rey rubbed at her arm, flustered. “Yes, um, that would be nice.”

Without another word, she followed him out into the corridor, past R5-D4 who was charging in a corner, and then down the _Falcon’s_ entry ramp into a mild evening; automatically her hand reached for his, slipping it into his much larger one as if it was the most natural thing in the galaxy to do.

And for a certain span of time, neither spoke.

They didn’t need to.

The gentle sounds of nature filled their ears with its pleasant noises just fine: The rustling of leaves in the trees; unseen animals calling out to each other; insects humming; the beats of their own hearts.

Her and Ben. With joined hands and minds wandering through the utopia of rural Naboo.

Rey wanted to take the moment and hold onto it forever.

And she did, as long as she could, or at least until Ben led her to a place she had not been to before and was somewhat surprised to find.

Then she paused.

“What…? How?” she felt words getting tangled up in her mouth; she looked in confusion at Ben, then back at the sight before her: A charming, old walking bridge that spanned the width of a smoothly-flowing creek of crystal clear water.

Ben smiled. “Unexpected, right?” He drew her forward onto the bridge, then let go of her hand and leaned his forearms onto the structure’s rail – if one could even call it that at a foot and a half thick – and gazed down at the water below. “I imagine it was built by someone who must have lived around here once upon a time.”

Rey joined him by the rail, and instead of watching the softly rushing water of the creek like him, focused her eyes on his face entranced by a dreamy, contemplative look she saw there. She felt her own smile curling onto her lips as she said, “When do you think that was?”

He shrugged, his eyes still pointed downward. “A long time ago, I’m guessing, and the only thing left to show for it is this bridge.”

All of a sudden, Rey could see it: A happy family. A mother and father. Their many children. Perhaps a pair of grandparents too. An energetic and much-loved family dog. Their pretty little house nestled into the side of a small hill. A pasture full of animals…

The young woman sighed and Ben turned to look at her.

“I like this place,” she said, her voice wistful. She liked all of Naboo.

Ben nodded knowingly. “I thought you might,” he replied, then faced toward the creek again; Rey did the same and gazed with appreciative eyes at the path the tinkling, bubbling waterway cut through the green landscape, almost it seemed all the way to the magnificent glowing sun setting far off in the distance.

Some time passed in a companionable silence, then eventually, Ben folded his hands before him, eyes focused toward the rapidly darkening sky, and said quietly, “My mother used to bring me here as often as she could manage when I was growing up. I think it was one of her favorite places in the whole galaxy.”

Rey looked at him, and in her mind she saw the image of a little boy, dark haired and pale, holding his mommy’s hand, as well as his daddy’s. All three of them, together, staring off into the sunset as they were now.

Suddenly, Rey remembered back to her visit to Ellen’s shop in Theed. The picture of the beautiful young queen.

 _Of course Leia would like it here,_ she thought. _Not only because Naboo is such a lovely planet, but because this was her mother’s home…_

“I know about your grandmother,” she said softly, timidly. “The queen. Padmé.”

If Ben was surprised by this he didn’t show it; instead he simply said, “My mother is a lot like her from what I’ve been told.”

The young woman said nothing right away. He was opening up, telling her things about his life, his past. And as many questions as she suddenly had to throw his way, she knew she needed to choose her words carefully so as not to disrupt the calm, so she went with the most important one first, the obvious one.

“You still love her, don’t you?” she asked. She was talking about his mother.

A long pause, then,

“Yes,” was the response.

Rey reached a tentative hand out and slowly clasped one of his, then, in a quiet, quiet voice said, “She still loves you too.” He turned to her then, his face wary, almost scared as if what she said was not possible. “It’s true,” she persisted. “When I talked to her last…after everything that had happened,” she was referring to the events at Starkiller, “I could tell it. I could hear her love for you. In her tone. In her words. In everything.” She blushed and turned away. “Even if I hated you and didn’t want to hear it.”

“You don’t hate me now?” he asked, a caution still to his tone, but also a hopefulness.

She faced him. “You know I don’t.”

He said nothing. A heartbeat or two later, he extracted his hand from hers and, slowly, hesitantly, reached up to the side of her face, his palm just hovering by it for a moment or two, then, one deep breath later, his fingers laced through the loose strands of her hair; his touch so soft, so delicate she barely felt it.

But she _did_ feel it.

And her heart stopped.

At least that was what it seemed like.

Then, abruptly, he dropped his hand and walked to the other side of the bridge. “You should,” he said, his back to her, his voice deep and husky.

Rey stared at him, a strange chill creeping its way up her spine. _What just happened?_

“No,” she replied, “I won’t…I don’t. Ben, how can you even say that?”

Still without looking at her, he said, “I’m not a good person. I’ve done – I’ve done terrible things.” At that last bit, his voice cracked.

And then there was silence, once again filled by nature’s melody.

Eventually, Rey sighed and whispered, “I know,” her eyes suddenly feeling a little watery, unable to deny the truth of his past. 

However…

“But I’m still here,” she said firmly, resolved. “Because I believe in you.”

And she did. There had been more than one opportunity during their time together for her to leave him, escape as far away as possible. But she never had. Because she saw the person he was, not the monster that he so often believed himself to be. 

That she had believed him to be.

“People stopped believing in me a long time ago,” he countered emotionlessly.

Rey walked over by him and stood as close as she could without touching him. 

“Did they? Or did you stop believing in yourself?”

He whipped toward her, and she felt the rush of air caused from the motion so near to each other were they. “You don’t know what it’s been like for me!” he hissed, but there was no real venom behind it. Just pain.

Rey gazed at him, her eyes desperately searching his, then she reached a hand forward and took his once again in hers. “Then tell me,” she said.

* * *

 

**Kylo**

Kylo stared at their joined hands; hers so small and delicate-looking tucked inside of his. So perfect. His heart wrenched in his chest at the sight.

Everything about her was perfect to him. So innocently perfect. And he had a desperate need to protect that innocence.

And he wanted to so much, but, as usual, the only way he seemed to be able to do that was by pushing the person he cared about away…

“Ben...”

Kylo pulled his eyes slowly from their hands and up to her face - her sweet, beautiful face.

“Please,” she said, and that was all she said. She didn’t need to say anymore. He knew what she wanted to hear. What he had promised he would tell her.

He sighed and felt his shoulders droop just a little, as if the weight of the galaxy was upon them. But he didn’t let go of her hand.

“Fine,” he said, somewhat defeated. “What do you want to know?”

“Enough to help me understand,” she answered, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

He grimaced but nodded his head. _Time to take an unpleasant stroll down memory lane…_

He started with a lesson on his family.

“For as a long as I can remember,” he began, “I’ve known about the Force. Even when I didn’t have the words to know exactly what it was, I knew about it. I felt it.” He laughed then, but without humor. “How could I not? It’s in my blood.” He looked at the girl curiously. “Do you remember on Starkiller when you saw Darth Vader in my thoughts?”

“How could I forget it?” she said mischievously. “It was my first time one-upping you in something.”

Kylo couldn’t help the smile that cracked his lips then, glad she was making light of that now slightly unsettling encounter between them, but it disappeared a moment later.

“Darth Vader is…was…my grandfather,” he stated, his tone matter-of-fact.

The girl seemed taken aback by this declaration, but she didn’t look horrified. Having grown up on Jakku, she most likely didn’t know the full extent of Vader’s history. She probably knew he was some kind of Dark lord, but not enough to make her truly disturbed by his announcement.

Or maybe she just didn’t care. 

“You’re talking about Leia’s father, aren’t you?” she said. He had barely given an affirmative to her question before she was talking again. “Ellen, the woman who owned the salon in Theed. She told me Queen Padmé had a somewhat controversial life. It was – it was because of her choice in a partner, wasn’t it?”

Suddenly, the girl blushed and looked away. Kylo caught a hint of what she was thinking about but didn’t probe any further than that. It was easy to guess, and it made him feel a little flustered as well.

She was thinking about herself….and him.

Well, he could see how that would be considered questionable. Even by himself.

He cleared his throat. “Come on,” he said, “let’s walk some more.” The girl agreed and they made their way to the other end of the bridge and off onto a path of lush green grass.

“So Darth Vader was Luke and Leia’s father,” the girl repeated this fact to herself, but said no more, perhaps rolling the information around in her brain.

“Yes,” Kylo responded. “The most powerful Force-user ever known in the galaxy was my grandfather.” He looked at the girl expectantly to see what she made of this information, but was surprised to find her already staring at him.

“Most powerful Force-user,” she said. “Isn’t your uncle considered the most powerful Jedi ever.”

Kylo ran a hand through his hair. He had heard Skywalker referred to in that way, but how accurate it was he didn’t know. The Jedi had existed for thousands of years before he was born. Perhaps for his time, though, such a title might be accurate.

Even Kylo could not deny Skywalker’s propensity for the Jedi arts.

“So,” the young man said, rather enjoying this strange little history lesson. Perhaps if he had been born to a different family, he would have been a teacher. “If my grandfather was the most powerful Force-user and my…mother’s brother…is considered the most powerful Jedi, what,” he paused for effect, his tone sounding more menacing than he intended, “do you think that makes me?”

The girl said nothing, and, looking over, Kylo observed her gazing solemnly off into the distance. When she finally turned to him, her eyes were sad.

“Someone with the opportunity for great potential,” she replied, whispering her response.

* * *

 

**Rey**

Ben made a grunting noise. She didn’t know what kind of answer he had been expecting her to give, but apparently that particular wording wasn’t it.

But it was true, anyway.

“Ben,” she said. “I –”

He shook his head and led her further along their grassy path; somewhere in a tree nearby an animal jumped from one branch to another. Elsewhere, two owls hooted softly to each other. In the sky above, the stars were starting to shine.

Rey wished they could return to that moment on the bridge when his fingers were in her hair.

“Snoke was interested in my powers from the very beginning.”

She snapped her eyes to the young man at her side.

“He knew the great power that I would likely possess – like the rest of my family,” he continued, his voice suddenly becoming bitter, his grip on her hand tightening, “and he invested an unthinkable amount of time and energy in me. Shaping me. Molding me.”

And, finally…

“Corrupting me.”

Rey swallowed a lump that had been forming in her throat. “Since you were a youngling?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? Probably even as early as when my mother was pregnant with me.” 

The young woman shivered. The thought of a helpless baby, possibly even still in his mother’s womb, targeted by a power-hungry monster. It was disgusting. Completely unheard of. Evil. But, even thinking all these things, it was with a sick curiosity she listened as he said, “And it worked.”

She looked at him at a loss for words. He was acting so nonchalant about the whole thing, but she knew underneath the façade there was a deep, raging pain.

“In the beginning, I didn’t really notice the evil that lurked so close to me,” he said. “There was a whisper here or there, unsettling kinds of things, usually about my family and myself, but I chalked it up to bad dreams and an overactive imagination – at least that’s what my parents told me it was.

“As I got older, though, things changed, and I realized some hard truths about the pretty little world I lived in – truths I suppose many children have to come to grips with.” His voice shook some and Rey observed a slight tremble wrack his body. To comfort him, she wrapped both her hands around his arm, tucking herself closer to his side; the small movement instantly seeming to calm him. “It was then that things really went downhill.

“My parents tried to help me. To understand me. My mother especially, being Force sensitive herself. _And_ my father,” he closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. “He tried… _at first._ But eventually, he just – he just…”

“What, Ben?” Rey prompted, desperate to comprehend the fractious relationship between father and son. To make sense of…just everything. “Tell me, please. I want to understand.”

He looked at her, and only then seemed to notice how close she had wrapped herself against him. His eyes, while still showing signs of an inner turmoil, softened some.

Finally, defeated, he said, “He just seemed to stop caring. And it was soon after I realized that, while _still_ feeling the presence of some unknown entity, I was sent off to Skywalker. Then things really went from bad to worse. The Dark – it overwhelmed me.”

Rey wasn’t sure how to ask her next question, but she figured being blunt was probably the best way to go, so that was what she did.

“Did you try to fight it? The presence…Snoke?”

His lips twisted into a grim smile. “Oh yes. Everyday. It was a constant battle. And clearly, as you know, I lost it.”

By this point in their conversation, they had circled back once more to the bridge; the nighttime sky now a complete star-strewn masterpiece.

“Oh, Ben, no,” Rey said, her heart breaking at his words. “No, that’s not true. We wouldn’t be standing here if it was.” She closed her eyes and instantly Han’s face loomed before her. “Yes, some pretty terrible things have happened,” she couldn’t deny it, “but you’ve made a choice. A choice to end it. The pain. The terror. To end Snoke”

“I know,” he said. He dropped her hand and walked over to the bridge’s rail. “But that choice came at a high price.” He was referring to Han. “And I wonder now if that price was even one I had to pay.”

“What do you mean?” Rey asked, her feet planted at the edge of the bridge.

He shook his head in frustration. Not at her but at what he was saying. “Did I really need to kill Solo to prove anything to Snoke? To trick him into thinking I was still loyal. Or could I have just waited, biding my time? I could feel the Force at work,” he looked at her, but his eyes were too difficult for her to read at her distance in the dark, “and I tried to listen to it. Understand what it was trying to show me. I think meeting you effected some of that. But instead I decided to take matters into my own hands.”

He took a step toward her, his profile suddenly perfectly illuminated in the moonlight. “You see, I knew only one thing: I wanted Snoke gone and I was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen. So I did – the only option I thought I had left to take. I killed…I killed my father.”

Abruptly, his shoulders began to shake and a single tear slid down his pale cheek, glistening in the light of the night sky. And that was all it took for Rey, seeing that one tear on his face. Without waiting a moment more, she ran over and wrapped her arms around him. Not his hand. Not his arm. Him. Ben. And pulled him close to her, resting her head on his chest, breathing in the masculine scent of his body, feeling the rapid beat of his heart.

She had expected him to stiffen some at the rather intimate contact, but he never did, instead he relaxed into her touch, eventually bringing his own arms up to embrace her. His body, while so much larger than hers, the perfect fit.

And they stayed like that. Their bodies and minds connecting in ways only the Force knew how. Filling themselves with the essence of each other, mingling the two. Sharing the same thoughts. The same heartbeats.

“Rey.”

Her name.

A whisper. A breath. A kiss to her senses.

He said it. _He said her name!_

She raised her eyes to his then and saw him gazing at her with a light she prayed she never saw be extinguished – like a beacon of hope, and she lost herself in that peaceful stare.

Eventually, she lifted her hand to his cheek, the one where the tear had been, and cupping it, cradled his face in her palm, feeling the surprisingly cool skin there against her own rather warm touch. Slowly, her finger drifted its way over to the scar that she had given him in what felt like another lifetime, and she traced its smooth ridge from his forehead, down his cheek, and finally to his shoulder where his clothes covered the rest of it, but what she could still see clearly in her mind from the day they had just departed Ilum.

“Ben,” she breathed, her hand resting on his broad shoulder, while the other one remained in place on his back. “I’m sorry about what I did to you there.”

She listened as he inhaled deeply. “Don’t be,” he whispered. And the next thing she knew his fingers were weaving their way into her hair, sending shockwaves of warmth from her head to her toes. She smiled at the pleasant sensation, and leaned into his chest once again, feeling deep inside of her in that moment that all was right in the galaxy.

* * *

 

**Ben**

He was Ben again. 

He knew it. Deep in his bones he could feel it.

He looked at the young woman walking next to him and his heart leapt in his chest. He owed her so much. For her support. For her belief. For her trust.

For his life.

The thought made him smile. Owing her…

“What’s the big grin for?” Rey asked.

 _Rey._ He liked her name. It just rolled off his tongue so easily, like a sweet caress.

“Nothing,” he smirked.

“You’re happy,” she said, swinging their arms forward and backward playfully as they ambled along on the path toward the _Falcon_.

“Me?” he said in mock seriousness. “Never!” But it was true, he was, or something close to it – all plans of destroying the most evil creature in the galaxy aside.

She didn’t say anything else, but he watched a smile of its own spread across her lips. A second or two later, however, one long yawn followed.

“Tired?” Ben asked, concern flooding the single word question. He instantly scolded himself for keeping her out so long and so late. It was selfish on his part. They had another busy day of training and planning tomorrow – time to really get down to business in this whole defeating Snoke thing. He already planned on contacting his Knights first thing in the morning.

“Maybe a little,” she said sheepishly. “But I enjoyed tonight,” she added as if she had read his thoughts.

She probably did.

Ben nodded, his tongue suddenly unable to form speech.

Thankfully, however, the _Millennium Falcon_ soon loomed into view, with R5-D4 zipping around outside doing some maintenance checks.

As they approached the ship’s entry ramp, Ben suddenly paused, realizing there was one more important piece of information he needed to share before their evening was finished.

“Rey,” he said, turning her to face him. “I need to tell you something.”

She looked at him, her eyes wide with curiosity. “What is it?”

“Rey,” he repeated her name, unable to get enough of saying it, interlocking his fingers with hers. “Listen, if there’s one thing I need you to take away from this. All of this. Our time together. I need you to understand just how important the Force is.”

“I do,” she said quickly, beaming. “You’ve helped teach me that.”

“No,” he shook his head. “I mean, yes, I have helped, but that’s not what I’m trying to tell you. Rey,” he said, gazing deeply into her eyes, feeling the power of the connection between them, “the Force…trust in it. Over anything. It’s the one thing that will never fail you.”

And then there was silence. She said nothing. Their link said nothing. Then…

“Ben,” she said, reaching up and gently brushing some strands of hair from his face, “I don’t think you’ll ever fail me either.” Then she leaned forward and softly pressed her lips against his cheek.

And Ben froze, shocked in the most pleasurable way, unable to do anything except breathe in the intoxicating scent of her.

A moment later, she stepped shyly away.

“I think I’m going to get ready for bed now,” she said quietly.

Ben gaped for a second, still stunned by what just happened, then shook himself out of it. _She_ might be ready for bed, but galaxy, there was no way he was.

Not after that.

“O-Okay,” he stammered, desperately trying to compose himself. “I might go for another walk before turning in myself.”

She smiled knowingly. “Alright. Good night.” And she turned to leave.

Ben watched her until she disappeared up into the Falcon, then turned back the way he had just come, ignoring the confused beeping of R5-D4 in the background.

The young man strode at a faster pace than he had earlier, eventually breaking into a run, feeling the refreshing coolness of the night air on his flushed and heated face.

He paused briefly at the bridge – _their_ bridge, recalling his not so long ago rendezvous there, then moved on, running faster and further, his legs pumping strongly beneath him, carrying him along like the wind.

And he thought of her.

Of Rey.

And he felt free and whole. Complete. A real person.

He hadn’t felt this way since…

Since…

He couldn’t remember.

And he liked it.

But all too soon, the feeling stopped.

He stopped.

And stared.

In the sky above him loomed three ships.

_The First Order._


	25. Chapter 25

**Ben**

Ben’s first immediate thought was of Rey and keeping the hovering First Order ships away from her – keeping her safe. At all costs. Even at risk to himself. Automatically, his hand drifted to his lightsaber, which he swiftly extracted from its place at his belt, but then just as abruptly refrained from activating. Not…just…yet…

His second thought wasn’t so much a thought as a feeling – a sinking one at that, as he watched in dread as the three ships above him were joined by three TIE Defenders, sleek starfighters that were a throwback to the days of the Empire. Deadly fast and deadly difficult to destroy.

_Great…_

Then he just stopped thinking and just started waiting for the inevitable, what he knew was going to come no matter what he did: A struggle. And one he’d be damned if he was going to lose. Immensely terrible odds or not.

The First Order was there, on Naboo, and they had found him. Game on.

Suddenly, a spotlight appeared, as well as the voice of Captain Phasma, and the sinking feeling in Ben’s stomach turned into a cold, hard knot. It was one thing to deal with some incompetent underlings, but Phasma was a different story. Whatever miniscule amount of hope he had was growing smaller by the second.

Still, _Rey_ …

“Kylo Ren,” Phasma’s voice boomed, “you are hereby ordered to submit yourself to the inspection of the First Order. Should you refuse or try to evade inspection, force will be used.”

Ben didn’t move. He had nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. And he didn’t want to – he didn’t want to do anything that would put Rey in danger. If they hadn’t yet discovered the _Millennium Falcon_ , which he didn’t believed they had, then he wasn’t about to tip them off to her. The young man even went so far as to block their connection, so Rey wouldn’t somehow put herself in harm’s way.

Moments later, the three larger ships landed; the TIE Defenders continued hovering menacingly in the sky overhead like angry insects waiting to strike at the first sign of trouble.

Ben activated his saber.

* * *

**Phasma**

“Blasters on stun!” Phasma ordered her troops. “I repeat: Blasters on stun! We are not here to kill Master Ren, we are here to capture him. Is that understood?” She stared at the dozen or so white-armored soldiers gathered in the deck below her on her computer screen. In unison, every one of them lifted a hand in salute. “Good,” she breathed. “On my order you will proceed out of this ship. Remember, Ren has…power…that he will most likely use to resist you. Use caution, but detain him through whatever means you can.”

The Captain turned away from the screen and looked out a nearby window at Ren, unmasked, and waiting, now pacing back and forth like a cat stalking prey. His red lightsaber glowed fiery red against the dark night back-drop.

It had been pure luck that they had found him. Truly. Out here in the most remote part of Naboo. An area abandoned generations ago because of a drought. Not that one would know that today by the looks of the place. Even in the dark, the officer could make out towering, leaf-filled trees and rolling, grassy hills.

A perfect place, she supposed, to get away.

Sighing, she tapped on the computer again. She sent a quick message to General Hux, then made her way down to where the troops waited her command.

“On three,” she said as soon as she joined the soldiers. “One. Two. Three. Blasters up and ready!”

* * *

 

**Hux**

“General Hux, sir,” an officer hailed him from her post on the bridge. “A message from Captain Phasma.”

Hux cocked an eyebrow realizing he had left his datapad in his office, then strode to the young woman’s station. His eyes quickly scanned the contents of the communication.

He glanced back at the red-cloaked guests who had once again rejoined him, then again at the officer.

“Program these coordinates that Captain Phasma has sent us into the computer,” he said. “I want us to head straight there.” He turned to walk away, then paused. “How long until we arrive at our destination?”

The young woman checked her computer. “We should be leaving hyperspace in fifteen minutes, sir.”

Hux said nothing and walked away, right past his visitors. 

Fifteen minutes and Kylo Ren would be in his grasp once again.

* * *

 

**Poe**

From his X-wing, Poe glanced anxiously at the small planet of Naboo which was drawing closer and closer. He really had no idea what he was flying himself and his fellow pilots into. Find Rey. Okay, he could do that. He _would_ do that. But how such a mission was exactly going to go down. He couldn’t say. And that was oftentimes how it was with these search-and-find kind of operations. A man couldn’t know until he was right there doing the job.

Which didn’t make it any easier.

And knowing the First Order was out and about making rounds of the galaxy definitely didn’t make things any better.

But this was an important mission. He knew it was.

Rey, for whatever reason, was important.

But still, some questions remained.

The Commander radioed Finn.

“Poe?” Finn’s voice crackled into his ear a moment later; he was flying with Skywalker and Chrys in one of the other ships – one of the Knights of Ren’s ships. “Poe, is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Poe said. “Hey, listen, Finn. About this rescue operation we’re doing. Is there anything else I should know? You know, other than about Rey and the First Order.” The Commander’s thoughts instantly leapt to General Organa, Skywalker, and all those unfinished sentences and cryptic replies he had been privy to when he had arrived back on Endor after his mission to the Core.

Finn was silent; a buzzing, staticky sound the only reply to Poe’s question. 

Then, his voice sounding strangely strangled and forced, Finn said, “Has General Organa ever talked to you about her son?”

Poe frowned. That was not a question he had been expecting, but he thought about it anyway. Had the General ever mentioned her son to him? No, maybe not directly, but he knew she had one. And that was all he knew. 

Where was Finn going with this?

“No,” the pilot eventually replied. “You getting at something with this, Finn?”

Another long static-ridden pause.

Finally, Finn replied, “Poe, there’s something I think you should know. Something kind of important.”

Poe didn’t respond right away as he communicated quickly back and forth with the other pilots about the descent to the planet’s surface, their destination locked in place. When a general flyover of the area to scope the place out was agreed upon, he turned his attention back to the conversation.

“And what is that?” he asked Finn.

Finn answered immediately. “Kylo Ren is actually General Organa’s son.”

Poe slammed his head back into his seat; his helmet absorbing most of what would have been a rather painful hit. His X-wing veered slightly to the left and he ignored the instant peppering of teasing questions from his fellow pilots. BB-8, who was accompanying him, also sent him a concerned message.

No. Joking. Way.

Completely impossible.

General Organa could not be that maniac’s mother. It was absolutely … absolutely … inconceivable.

And yet…

Jakku. Nighttime. Stormtroopers. Screams. A masked figure in black. A blaster bolt stopped mid-air.

_Only someone strong with the Force could do that._ The words sounded exactly like something Jedi Master Luke Skywalker would say, but they were Poe’s own. His thoughts. As little as he knew about the Force, he knew that was true.

And he had never heard of any family being more powerful with it than…

The Skywalkers.

Finn was telling the truth: Kylo Ren was General Organa’s son. And the knowledge that he was on Naboo with Rey, two Force users together…

What did it all mean?! Anything? And how much of it were the General and Skywalker in on?

All this new information was almost more than Poe wanted to wrap his brain around at the moment.

Suddenly, his fingers tightened around the controls. Were they expected to bring Ren back with Rey?!

Finn’s voice broke through his thoughts then. “Poe?” he said. “Poe, are you still there?”

Poe blinked his eyes as if to clear his thoughts. “Yeah, I’m still here. Just processing what you told me.”

Then he said no more until he entered Naboo’s atmosphere and saw in conflicted excitement the Millennium Falcon slowly coming into view. But just as he began to make out some of the finer details of the old freighter – like its offset cockpit and overall odd saucer-like shape, a series of bright lights caught his attention, and it didn’t take one of his pilots to radio him to tell him what it was.

The First Order had arrived before them. And clearly, business was already going down.

“Shoot,” Poe said, and he signaled for the other ships to follow him to the action.

And there, just before the first TIE Defender zoomed into his face, Poe saw him, red light saber drawn and Stormtroopers slowly attempting to surround him.

Kylo Ren.

General Organa’s son.

* * *

 

**Rey**

Fury. Frustration. Protectiveness.

Rey snapped her eyes open, a strange mixture of feelings seeping into her consciousness. Was it just her dreams? She looked around at the dark walls of the Millennium Falcon. Everything looked in order, ordinary, but why did she have this odd sense of something not being right.

Her thoughts instantly leapt to Ben and her gaze shot to his empty bed. Where was he? Still on his walk? What time was it?

“Ben?” she shouted into the dark, sitting up and throwing her legs over the side of her bed. “Ben?!”

Then, softer, but still a little frantic, she called to him through their link. 

And hit a wall.

A block.

Ben was blocking her in their connection. They hadn’t done that to each other since…she wasn’t even certain anymore. But why?

Suddenly, her heart began to pound wildly in her chest. Something was wrong. Really really wrong.

The young woman began to search for some clothes to wear. Not her dress, hung carefully in the corner, but her old tunic and pants. Something she could move quickly in without worrying about it being damaged.

She paused. Why did she think she was going to have to be concerned about that? She desperately hoped Ben was not in _that_ kind of situation.

Still, she couldn’t ignore her feeling of dread.

Just as she was pulling on her boots, the sleeping quarters’ door slid open. Rey glanced up and for a split second thought it was going to be Ben. Home. Safe. Her worries all for nothing.

It was R5-D4 beeping frantically.

She immediately crossed the length of the room and knelt down before the agitated droid. “Slow down, Arfive,” she said, “I can’t understand you when you talk so fast.” The astromech heeded her request and Rey listened in trepidation to his news.

“The First Oder is here?” she said, her heart plummeting into her stomach. “When? Where exactly?” And, more importantly, “Where’s Ben?”

The little droid beeped sadly. He didn’t know.

Rey put her hand comfortingly on his dome, suddenly recalling the day Ben had completed his work on the little droid in front of her – the same day she had finished her lightsaber. He had been so proud…

“It’s alright, Arfive,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “You’ve done what you could…telling me. I’ll do the rest. I’ll go find him.”

The astromech beeped questioningly.

The young woman shook her head. “No, you stay here. Guard the ship. I’ll take a comlink with me and call you if I need anything.”

And without another word, she grabbed her lightsaber and exited the _Falcon_ , desperately drawing on the Force to guide her in the right direction, and began to run.

* * *

 

**Ben**

Ben swung his lightsaber to deflect the first blaster bolt shot at him. He used the Force to stop the next one. Somewhere Captain Phasma’s voice called out the same orders and threats as she had minutes before. Ben ignored her. And he kept on ignoring her when the first Stormtrooper that got a little too close to his flaming lightsaber crumpled to the ground.

Never…never again would he ever let the First Order…Snoke…use him as some kind of pawn. He would fight them until he could fight no more…until the last breath went out of his body.

Suddenly, the loud noise of laser cannons being fired drew Ben’s eyes skyward, and then they nearly popped out of his head.

_X-wings?!_

The Resistance!

How?

He didn’t have time to ponder his questions for any amount of time, however, as blaster bolt after blaster bolt was shot his way. The young man was holding his own, but he didn’t know for how much longer.

Then he noticed some other ships landing near the First Order ones, and if he was shocked by the sudden appearance of the X-wings, he was even more stunned by these: The space vessels of the Knights of Ren.

And a presence…

_Luke Skywalker._

* * *

 

**Luke**

Luke stared solemnly at the dark figure of his nephew from his shuttle’s windows. It had been a long time since he had properly seen the younger Skywalker in action using the Force, but it still amazed him every time he did at the sheer power his sister’s son possessed.

Power he had tried to help train.

Tried and failed…

The Jedi sighed and continued to scan the ground a little longer, his eyes searching for another particular person.

Where was Rey?

Abruptly, another image- a reflection - appeared in the glass he was looking through. Turning slightly, he saw Chrys gazing down at the action they were about to join; she appeared nervous.

“Feeling okay about this?” he asked, truly wondering her thoughts on all of it being a former Stormtrooper. It had to be just a bit surreal.

The redhead gave him a weak smile. “I’ll live,” she said, then turned her focus back to the fighting outside. “It’s just strange knowing I’m here, with you and Finn, on this ship, and not out there wearing that white armor shooting a blaster at a person I don’t even know all because someone else told me to without explaining why.”

Luke eyed her consideringly. “You’re not regretting it? Coming with us?” He paused, then quietly added, “The choices you’ve made?”

She shook her head. “Not one bit.” She turned to walk away, then slowed, shooting the Jedi Master one last parting, twinkling look. “Wait until you see me with a blaster.”

* * *

 

**Poe**

Poe slammed his X-wing to the right, narrowly avoiding being blown to smithereens.

_Damn, those TIE Defenders were fast!_

But he was the better pilot, he knew it. And he was going to prove it.

Soaring high up, almost to the point of leaving Naboo’s atmosphere, he listened as BB-8 told him frenziedly that at least one of the TIEs was following him.

Good, he wanted to get them away from the action on the ground anyway. Let Skywalker and Finn do what needed to get done down there. The air was his.

He radioed his fellow pilots. “I’m going up into space with one of ‘em, guys. Keep it together wherever you are.”

If the First Order pilot was looking for a dogfight, the Commander was more than happy to oblige.

* * *

 

**Ben**

He was wearing down. He knew it. A man could only deflect twenty-plus blasters aimed at him for so long. And they were all aimed at him, or trying to at least. The Knights, Skywalker and his crew, they were a distraction. A helpful one.

But they were still outnumbered on the ground

Ben had the fleeting urge to check on Rey, but he squashed that desire down fast. No, he didn’t want to alarm her.

He wanted her safe, away from danger.

If the First Order was going to come and take someone. Let it be him.

Though, once again, he hoped he died before then if that’s what it came to…

* * *

 

**TK-4149**

Stormtrooper TK-4149 held her blaster, fired it, missed, and prepared herself to aim again. The action was so routine she barely had to think about it. Which was just, she supposed, as the First Order wanted it.

Just as all her life had been just as the First Order wanted it.

But as a blaster bolt suddenly went soaring a mere inch or so directly in front of her face, she suddenly realized something: She didn’t really like what the First Order wanted.

She really never had. She had just never had a choice.

No Stormtrooper did, did they?

TK-4149 swiveled her head toward the person who had shot at her, for lack of anything better to do, but the individual, whoever it was, was already gone. Perhaps it hadn’t even really been anyone, anyway, just a stray bolt that happened to fly within killing distance of her – there were plenty of those going around.

Absently, she clutched at her blaster and stood poised to…to…

Shoot?

She paused, suddenly unsure in a life that had always been sure.

Then, something happened. A voice, one she recognized – but from where? – suddenly shouted some incomprehensible words at Captain Phasma.

TK-4149 turned in the direction of the voice and stared at a red-haired woman dressed in what she assumed was Resistance-issued attire. Except that woman wasn’t a rebel…she was a servant of the First Order.

TK-4111?!

* * *

 

**Phasma**

TK-4111.

She thought she had perished on Ahch-To. But no, apparently something much different had happened to her.

_It would have been better for her if she had died,_ Phasma thought as she took a shot at the turncoat and missed, her blaster bolt soaring off into empty space. _Now she would just die like the rest of the rebel filth she had become._

What was suddenly happening to all her soldiers? First FN-2187, now TK-4111, some of the best troops in their divisions. Did the First Order’s conditioning methods need to be reassessed? It was one thing if there was one oddity in the bunch, but two?!

Phasma leapt quickly to her left as TK-4111 shot a couple of bolts in quick succession in her direction, hearing the whiz of the blazing beams as they soared past her. She rapidly returned fire, but the former Stormtrooper had already maneuvered herself out of range.

A troop ran up to the officer then.

“Captain,” the soldier wheezed. “We’ve lost at least a quarter of our troops. There’s a Wookie with the rebels who’s blasting everything he shoots at to bits!”

“Then kill the Wookie!” Phasma growled, her eyes searching the surrounding mayhem of bodies and ships and all colors of flying bolts for TK-4111. “But we’re not leaving here until we get Ren!” 

At that moment, a Resistance X-wing crashed to the ground in a fiery explosion knocking everyone to the ground.

Quickly clambering to her feet, Phasma growled at the soldier, still struggling to rise himself. “General Hux is on his way here at this very moment. Now go get Ren!”

Without waiting for the man to salute, the Captain turned on her heels and strode away. She had only gone about fifteen paces when she heard a mocking voice say, “Looking for me?”

Phasma fired her blaster. “Rebel scum!”

TK-4111 laughed as the bolt went flying two feet to her right.

“You are nothing,” Phasma growled, her eyes tracking the other woman’s movements, her blaster ready to fire, "but a disgusting traitor!”

And she shot again. And missed.

TK-4111 smiled. “You know,” she said, “it’s interesting, I shouted that very same thing at somebody fairly recently too. But I’m not…what you say I am. I’m not a traitor. I’m just a person wanting to live.” The woman paused as if thinking, then turned to her former superior officer, her eyes thoughtful. “What are you, Captain?”

Somewhere overhead, a missile launched into the air and exploded.

_Tired._

Both women raised their blasters then and fired at the same time.

* * *

 

**Ben**

They were too close. Too many. And he couldn’t hold them all off anywhere.

Someone grabbed his arm and he ripped himself out of their grasp.

But another hand came. And then another.

Vaguely, Ben heard Skywalker’s voice, shouting. His name?

He reached out to the Force for help.

But there were just too many…

* * *

 

**Poe**

Poe released the controls of his X-Wing and just stared at a small piece of space before him, a smoky mass of nothing. Inside his gloves his hands were sweaty and shaking like leaves; he tore the coverings off and wiped his palms on his pant legs.

_What…a…chase._

And a close one at that. The Commander had very nearly had himself blasted into space dust a couple of times. The speed of those TIEs was to die for. Literally. Thankfully, BB-8 had been there to warn him at just the last second when to dive or roll, successfully avoiding obliteration. Sometimes, a little too close.

The pilot relaxed back into his seat, his heart still hammering madly in his chest, and took a moment or two to let his breathing even out, his eyes lazily sweeping the vast scenery of stars and planets.

So calm.

So…

_Star Destroyer?!_

Poe blinked. A hulking First Order Star Destroyer suddenly loomed ominously close before him, apparently having just left hyperspace.

“I’ve got a really bad feeling about this,” he said aloud to himself, and, gripping the controls once again, he began a sharp descent back toward Naboo’s surface. Immediately, the sights and sounds of battle came into focus.

“Hey guys,” he radioed his fellow Resistance members – those who were left. “I hope you’ve got Rey because we’ve got to get up and out of here. A Star Destroyer just showed up. You hear me? Up and out!”

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey’s lungs felt like they were about to explode and her legs threatened to give out below her, but on and on she ran, mindless of such physical discomforts. They didn’t matter. The only thing that did was Ben.

Ben…

_Please let him be okay_ , she prayed, unaware of the tears that slid down her cheeks. _Please…_

Suddenly, the peace and beauty of Naboo was shattered for her. Ben missing. The First Order nearby. The planet was no longer a paradise: it was a nightmare.

A beautiful, beautiful nightmare.

As the young woman crested a hill, the sound of fighting abruptly filled her ears: blasters, screaming starfighters, buzzing lightsabers.

She took a deep breath, felt for the Force once more, took a step…

And then she saw it, all of it, spread out in all its deadly, frightening glory before her. Lifeless bodies, crashed X-wings and TIEs, fire…

Especially the fire.

And there amongst it all was Finn. And Chewbacca. And Luke. And…

_Him._

Flanked by at least half a dozen Stormtroopers, his arms restrained, his legs bound and dragging uselessly over the ground, Ben was being taken toward a First Order vessel.

_No!_ How could this be happening?

“Ben!” she screamed, her legs moving again before she even realized they were. “Ben!”

Eyes instantly swiveled in her direction. She heard Finn yell her name. A blaster bolt whizzed by.

But still she ran.

Toward the ship with its doors wide open and waiting.

Toward Ben.

And she saw him raise his head, his eyes gazing right at her.

“Ben,” she called again, finally breaking through the block in their link, reaching out to him, feeling him. “Ben!”

And right before her heart broke into pieces, she heard him in her mind. Like a kiss to her soul.

“Rey,” he whispered.

Then the ship’s doors closed with him behind them, and somewhere, far far away, someone’s voice – Finn? Luke? – shouting, “Star Destroyer! We’ve got to get out of here! Rey, let’s go!” and a hand appearing out of nowhere and pulling her away. Away from the ship.

Away from Ben.


	26. Chapter 26

**Finn**

Finn pulled gently but urgently on Rey’s arm. “Come on, Rey,” he said to his friend, “we have to go.” All around him people were running, rebels and Stormtroopers alike. Most were headed toward departing ships, but a few still fought on deep in the throes of battle. Everywhere there were signs of destruction: dead bodies, burning starfighters, scorched earth.

“No,” the young woman cried, her voice more pain-filled than Finn could ever remember hearing it, even after Han’s death. “I can’t let them take him!”

Finn shook his head, anxious. She was talking about Ren, of course. His brain couldn’t even begin to grasp what might have transpired between the two during their time together, but just now was definitely not the time to figure it out.

Master Skywalker and Chewbacca ran up to him then; in Chewie’s arms was a very unconscious-looking Chrys.

“She’s alive,” Skywalker said, his voice surprisingly emotional, “but she needs medical attention soon.” Something silver flashed in the Jedi’s hand catching Finn’s eyes, but he quickly slipped it up his sleeve out of sight. Finn looked at the older man, but saw his gaze had drifted to Rey. He also turned his attention once again to the young woman; she was weeping.

Gently, Skywalker took hold of one of her hands. “We’ll find him, Rey. Don’t give up hope. But right now-”

Rey ripped her hand from the older man’s grasp. “I can’t just abandon him to – to – them!”

Skywalker sighed, stroking his beard. “I know.”

Suddenly, Poe’s voice broke through the surrounding mayhem into Finn’s ear. “Let’s go, guys,” he radioed from his X-wing. “We’re out of here. Now! That’s an order!”

Finn reached for Rey one more time, not quite sure of who the young woman was before him anymore. It was clear that she was not the same person she had been on Starkiller, and he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

“Let’s go, Rey,” he said, his tone soft yet pleading.

Rey closed her eyes, her body trembling, visibly torn by their current situation. Then, a ship landed, and the decision was made for them.

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey felt numb. 

Her heart was in tatters. Her body moved but without any sense of what it was doing. Somehow, she had found herself on the _Millennium Falcon_ , but had only a vague recollection of how she had come to be there.

Finn was also onboard. And he was talking. But she didn’t hear him.

She didn’t hear anything.

Only the sound of Ben’s voice as he whispered her name just before they – the First Order – took him. Kidnapped him.

And all she could do was watch in horror.

The young woman cried.

Never in the history of her life could she remember feeling as desolate and terrified as she did then. Not even on her worst nights on Jakku where she had lived alone for years.

She attempted to reach out to him through their link, but again she encountered a wall between them. Whether self-imposed by him or for some other reason she didn’t know, but it frightened her.

What if the First Order had done something to him?

_Please, no…_

She took a deep shuddering breath and slouched further into the chair she was sitting in, letting her emotions carry her away.

Without her knowing, time slipped quickly by.

And then the _Falcon_ was descending, apparently preparing for landing.

Rey snapped herself to just as the ship came to a smooth, final stop. Within seconds, the door to the ship’s entryway slid open.

And there, at the bottom of the boarding ramp, was Leia.

Apparently waiting for her.

Seconds later, the young woman found herself enveloped in the older woman’s arms, both sharing tears. Both sharing the same pain for a loved one. Again.

“They have him, Leia,” she whispered, her voice wobbly, her heart heavy, her whole body a quivering mess.

Leia said nothing but rubbed her back comfortingly, and through her immense pain, Rey felt something, small yet sweet, significant:

_This is what it feels like to have a mother._

Before she could process the thought, however, Leia said, “We’re going to get him back.”

And Rey believed it.

* * *

 

**Leia**

“They had Ben completely surrounded, Leia,” Luke said, recounting the story of the recent mission to Naboo. “I tried to get to him. Chewbacca tried. The Knights did as well. But the First Order had us severely outnumbered.” He was silent for a moment, his eyes distant, perhaps reliving the battle again in his mind. “It’s amazing we didn’t have any more casualties than we did.”

Leia nodded her head, listening. They were in her private quarters, their first chance to talk since the ships had returned to Endor.

She had been so ready to see her son again. So ready to wrap her arms around him and hold him close, just like she had when he was little. At least, she had hoped she could. The possibility that he would want nothing to do with her was not one that could be ignored.

Still, if Rey had been able to break through to him, then perhaps there was hope for her as well.

She thought of the young woman then, the grief she had seen in her eyes when the ships had landed so real.

_She loves him._

The sudden thought surprised Leia, but not in a shocking way. It was more of a pleasant, warm feeling. One that made her sorrowful heart just a little less sad.

She forced herself to return to her conversation with her brother.

“And Chrys?” the General asked. “How is she?”

Suddenly, her twin looked a little nervous. Was that just her imagination?

“Dr. Kalonia says she will be fine,” Luke replied a beat later, his tone even, absolutely no sign of being flustered. “If the blaster bolt had been even a couple more inches to its right, however, I might be telling you a different tale.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I hope she recovers swiftly,” Leia replied. She hadn’t spoken much with the former Stormtrooper herself, but she was grateful for the younger woman’s assistance in locating Rey and Ben.

“I’ll tell her you said that,” Luke said.

Leia smiled, imagining her brother relaying her sentiments to the redhead, but too quickly, the smile was wiped from her face as her thoughts once again returned to the original topic of their conversation: Ben.

“So what now, Luke?” she said. “Where do we go from here?”

Luke eyed her thoughtfully. Leia raised her eyebrows at his penetrating stare, and he said, “We find Ben, of course.”

“But where do you think he is?”

Luke walked over by a window, his seemingly favorite spot wherever they happened to be. “Just where you think he is but don’t want to say.”

Leia closed her eyes, her shoulders slumped defeatedly. “Snoke?”

“Yes, or at least that’s where they are taking him at this moment.”

The General rubbed at her temples. Why her family? Why did everything bad always seem to happen to her family? It wasn’t that she wished ill on anyone else. She just wished sometimes things could be a little less complicated. That the galaxy could be a little less complicated.

Finally, she said, “How do we get there? How do we find them?”

Luke reached into his sleeve and withdrew a small, silver object, holding it up for Leia to see; her eyes immediately widened.

“By using the other half of this tracking device,” he said. “And we have the First Order to thank for giving me the idea.”

* * *

 

**Hux**

Hux watched as the ships from Naboo came into the Finalizer’s hangar one by one. Inside of one of them, Kylo Ren was held, restrained, and the General wouldn’t at all be surprised to learn, drugged.

 _Minutes now_ , he told himself. Minutes and he would be once again reacquainted with the annoying brute. And oh, what a memorable meeting it would be.

Stepping a little closer to the landing area, he watched and waited. Part of him was surprised he hadn’t heard from Captain Phasma yet, but then again, if Ren was being a handful – as he usually was – then maybe not so surprising.

Everything was going to work out just fine now.

 _If only, though_ , he thought, feeling some familiar presences lingering behind him, _he could lose the unwanted company_.

“Don’t worry, men,” he addressed the red cloaked guards of the Supreme Leader, “the wretch is almost here now.”

And with that, the first of the ships’ doors opened.

Several Stormtroopers stepped out; one of them approached Hux.

“General,” the soldier saluted him. The man was nervous. Whatever he had to tell was not going to be good news. “Sir, I regret to inform you that Captain Phasma perished in the field of battle.”

What?! Hux stared at the troop bewildered.

The soldier waited for the General to say something, but when he didn’t, the man hesitantly forged on ahead, “Unfortunately, sir, we were unable to retrieve her body due to unforeseen circumstances concerning the Resistance.”

Phasma was gone?! Hux absorbed the news with a certain amount of shock. She had always been such a useful tool for the First Order.

Useful but now dead. And one not easy to replace.

 _But replaced she would have to be_ , he told himself with a resoluteness to the task. Just not yet. There were more important matters to take care of first.

“Where’s Kylo Ren?” he barked at the Stormtrooper.

The troop bounced from one foot to the other anxiously. Hux leered at him. _Didn’t these people know anything about proper poise?_

“In – in the ship still, sir,” the man stuttered. “S-sedated. I’ll go see what’s going on.” He scampered off.

A minute later, the same troop reappeared with a gaggle of his comrades; between them they escorted a clearly drugged up Ren. The General smiled and watched with pleasure as the soldiers led the great lumbering fool closer to him. When they were about a foot or so away, he reached forward and shoved Ren’s head back so he could see his face clearly; a pair of dark dazed eyes stared back at him.

Hux slapped his face.

For good measure he slapped it again.

Ren’s eyes began to clear some then.

“Ah,” Hux said sneeringly, “waking up now are we, little prince?” He pretended to look around. “Where’s your sweet pretty princess? I had a report that you were seen with a woman. Did she run away from you like everyone –”

Ren spat at him.

And time abruptly seemed to stop.

Hux, for a moment, did nothing, as if frozen, his breathing suspended. Then, slowly, he reached up and wiped the saliva away, his hand shaking, but barely. A second later, his fist slugged into Ren’s stomach, causing the other man to double over. Then, a heartbeat after that, he shoved him to the floor and kicked him. And he kicked him again. And again. And…

“Enough!” a hand reached forward and yanked the General back a step.

It was one of the Supreme Leader’s guardsmen.

“The Supreme Leader wants this man alive, not dead. You have had your turn at payback. Now it is finished. Any more actions of this sort out of you will be directly reported to the Supreme Leader. Is that understood?”

Hux shouldered himself out of the other man’s grasp and tugged at his jacket to straighten it.

“Are you threatening me?” Hux glared. “I am captain of this ship and a general in the First Order. I take orders from no one but the Supreme Leader himself.”

The guard stepped menacingly close. “Do not test me, _General_.”

Hux held the man’s stare for a second, then two more, then turned his back on him and directed rage-filled eyes at Ren’s prone body on the floor and the surrounding Stormtroopers.

“Pick him up and follow me,” he snarled at the soldiers. “I have a special cell for him.”

Without another word, the General stormed from the hangar. 

Someone was going to pay for all this. And it wasn’t going to be him!

* * *

 

**TK-4149**

TK-4149 stepped out of her recently landed shuttle and was immediately surprised to hear the sound of a slap echoing around the hangar. _Quite the slap!_ She glanced around to see which poor fool was on the receiving end of the assault, and was shocked to see General Hux smacking Kylo Ren.

Curious, although she knew she really shouldn’t be, she listened in as the General very audibly berated Ren who, she realized, was clearly under some form of sedation. She had seen the man in action on Naboo and there was no way he would take a slap like that otherwise.

Naboo…

Master Ren had been fighting them – the First Order. He hadn’t wanted to come back to the ship. Hadn’t wanted to return to the service of the Supreme Leader. 

And the Resistance…

Images of TK-4111 instantly swam into view.

They were there fighting too, as if they were on Ren’s side.

Was Master Ren with them now? It was well known that Ren was the apprentice of the Supreme Leader. Was he no longer?

Why?

_Maybe he doesn’t like what the First Order wants._

That thought…it was just like what she had realized for herself during the battle on Naboo. But…

What choice did she have?

Did she have one?

 _Could_ she have one?

Suddenly, someone nudged her in her back. Turning, she saw TK-4150 waiting patiently behind her.

“Come on,” he said, ignoring the sounds of General Hux’s boot as it slammed into Kylo Ren’s body with sickening force. “Now is not the time to draw attention to yourself.”

TK-4149 nodded her head. _No, now was not the time, but when would be?_

* * *

 

**Finn**

Finn scrubbed a hand over his face and stared at the reflection of a dejected Rey in the window of the _Millennium Falcon’s_ cockpit.

“I thought I’d find you here,” he said, hesitantly stepping further into the small space. The young woman didn’t respond and he slipped into the co-pilot’s chair beside her.

“Rey…”

She turned to look at him, but said nothing.

Finn sighed. _Damn Kylo Ren. What did he do to the sweet, feisty girl he met on Jakku?_

A long silence ensued. Rey turned to face forward again and Finn looked awkwardly at his feet. About a few seconds into his observation of his boots and the dull, metallic floor beneath them, something black and shiny behind Rey’s chair suddenly caught his eye. Reaching forward he drew the object out then promptly released it.

Rey instantly snapped around at the noise and emitted a small gasping sound; without any kind of pause she picked the dropped item up and held it almost tenderly in her hands. Finn couldn’t help gawking at her for a few moments.

Eventually, she said, “He’s not a bad person, Finn,” her eyes gazing sadly into the black void of Kylo Ren’s helmet.

Finn slowly exhaled, a thought he hadn’t wanted to consider before but now couldn’t escape from forming in his brain.

“You have feelings for him, don’t you,” he said quietly, unable to help his tone from sounding accusatory, because, well, it felt like an accusation. Kylo Ren was a murderer after all, and Rey having something akin to a tenderness for him…it just didn’t seem right.

She didn’t reply and for Finn that was answer enough.

She did.

“Rey…” He ran his hands anxiously through his hair. This…it just wasn’t even fathomable.

How did this happen?!

“Rey, he kidnapped you!” he said, his tone almost pleading. “Twice! Not to mention he killed Han!”

She dropped the helmet into her lap and turned to glare at him. “I know exactly what he’s done!” she hissed, her voice holding an anger Finn had never heard before. “But I know him…and he’s not what you think!”

Finn shook his head for lack of knowing what to say. He knew there was more to Ren’s story, but it was just so hard to want to understand. Especially when one’s had his back sliced open by the guy.

“Are you sure you’re not suffering from one of those kidnapping syndromes? You know, the type where the captive develops feelings for their captor.”

Rey leapt to her feet, the helmet clattering loudly to the floor, her face twisted in a mixture of hurt and fury. “Is that what you really think, Finn? That I’m some kind of…kind of…victim?!”

Finn stared at his hands, unable to meet the fiery gaze of the young woman towering over him. There was no easy way to say what he wanted to say, so…

“Kind of,” he said. “Yeah.”

Without another word, Rey bolted from the cockpit, her departure so surprisingly quiet and quick Finn wouldn’t have known she left if not for the small rush of air as she fled the room. Immediately, he stood to follow her.

“Rey,” he shouted, his voice rather loud and jarring, bouncing off the _Falcon’s_ walls with a faint echo.

He rounded a corner and came to a grinding halt as the door to the ship’s sleeping quarters slid shut; on the other side he could hear the soft sounds of someone crying.

“Rey,” he said imploringly. “Rey, I’m sorry. I – I know you’re hurting right now. I do. Really.” And he did. Whether he thought much of the person she was hurting for or not. “But I just…this situation with Ren…and you…I just don’t even know what I am supposed to think anymore.”

On the other side of the door, all was quiet.

“It’s just,” he continued on, “one minute Ren was the sworn enemy, and now it’s like you and him…well, I’m not even sure what…But, Rey, the man cut my back open with a lightsaber. Left me for dead. I just…how do I move on from that?” His voice broke then. “How?”

The young man heard footsteps and suddenly the door before him opened. Rey, her face tear-streaked but no longer angry, stepped out into the hall with him. Reaching up, she wiped her face with her sleeve and said, “Some reunion this has turned out to be for us, huh?"

Finn kicked a foot into the floor and half-smiled at the unexpected question. “Yeah…”

Then they fell into a silence.

Eventually, Rey whispered, “I need your help, Finn. Please.”

He looked at the young woman, at her clothes slightly rumpled, her hair loose and tangled, her slim frame trembling, and kicked the floor again.

He wanted to tell her ‘No.’ He wanted to tell her that Kylo Ren was not worth her concern. He wanted to wash his hands clean of the whole dangerous situation.

But he didn’t. Couldn’t. Not when she had those big, trusting eyes gazing at him.

Instead he said, “What exactly do you need help with?”

And she smiled and threw her arms around him in happiness, an energy returning to her, a determination – the Rey that he remembered.

“I need your help saving him,” she said. She was referring to Ren, Finn didn’t even need to ask. “And then…”

“And then…?” he prompted.

“And then,” she said pulling away from him, her eyes shining, “we do as Ben wanted and destroy Snoke.”

* * *

 

**Poe**

Poe had just finished up a rather grim conversation with his fellow pilots over the events of their recent flight when he suddenly observed the astromech droid R2-D2 go shooting across the control room floor.

“Oh my,” C-3PO said nearby, “I wonder what has Artoo in such a hurry?”

Poe was slightly curious as well, having learned that when the small blue and white astromech was up to something it was usually something important, and decided to investigate; C-3PO followed him.

The two soon found themselves outside and crossing the length of the tarmac.

“What is that little troublemaker doing?” Threepio said as Artoo abruptly stopped and turned his dome one way and then another. Then he beeped once and began to roll forward some.

Suddenly, another astromech droid appeared, an older model like Artoo.

As Poe and C-3PO approached the two astromechs, Poe watched with interest as the two droids bumped each other, almost as if in greeting, and beeped back and forth.

“These two know each other?” Poe said, looking at Threepio.

C-3PO gazed at the astromechs then back to Poe. “Er…ahem…yes,” he replied, “though I must confess it has been an age since we saw _him_ last. I had assumed he had probably been…oh, excuse me, that’s not important.” Threepio refocused himself. “That droid, Commander Dameron, is R5-D4, whom Artoo and I met a long time ago when Master Luke was a very young man.”

“You don’t say,” Poe said staring at the newcomer. _How old exactly were all these droids?!_

“Yes, it is quite true,” Threepio replied. “Master Luke’s uncle had purchased him at the same time he bought me, but then he suffered an unfortunate malfunction, and little Artoo, at _my_ suggestion I’d like to add, was then obtained in his place.”

Poe grinned. There was truly more to the life of a droid than most people realized.

“Well it sounds like old Arfive has a new master now,” he said.

“Indeed,” Threepio agreed, “and Miss Rey will make a fine one. I do wonder how she found him…”

Speaking of Rey, her and Finn suddenly appeared coming from the direction of the _Millennium Falcon_.

“Hey guys,” Poe greeted them. “Everything alright?” He couldn’t help but notice the rather serious expressions on their faces as they walked up.

“Poe,” Finn said, “we need to talk. About Ren.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Rey**

The Endor suns were shining brightly in the sky as Rey made her way to a meeting key members of the Resistance were holding in the base’s control room, but the young woman’s mood was anything but reflective of the warm, cheery atmosphere of the world around her. She was resolute in her task, yes, to save Ben, but there was no joy in such a venture. Only seriousness and firm determination.

There would be no happiness for her until Ben was safe and the people who had taken him – the First Order - were destroyed. And she wanted that that very moment.

 _“These things take planning,”_ a voice in her head – Poe’s voice – reminded her, taken from a conversation she had had with him just a short time ago when her and Finn had approached him about finding Ben, something he had been reticent about but ultimately agreed to for the sake of the galaxy.

And because of his loyalty to Leia.

Oh, Leia…

Rey knew the older woman would do anything within her power to find her son, but the truth of the matter was, they were going to need the help of other people besides the two of them, Luke, Chewbacca, and maybe the Knights of Ren.

They were going to need the Resistance. And it was important the Resistance knew why finding Ben was so imperative.

Well, maybe not everything. But enough for them to know that Ben was key in defeating Snoke and the First Order.

At least, she believed he was.

Her and him together.

 _Oh Ben,_ she sighed, remembering their first fateful flight in the _Falcon_ together when he had first told her about needing her help in overthrowing the powerful Dark lord. How long ago that seemed, and yet not.

Absently, really more out of habit than anything, she reached out to him then through their connection, and…

She suddenly fell to her knees, right there in the middle of the tarmac.

She felt him!

Ben!

And she could see him somehow. And yet not. She didn’t know how to explain the sensation. It was like that time on Ahch-To when they connected with each other even though they were a galaxy apart, both seeing and feeling the thoughts or surroundings of the other. Both thinking of the same thing…?

In this instance, both thinking of each other?

“Ben,” she called out to him through their now open link. “Ben, where are you?”

The young woman could see only darkness surrounding him. And the young man himself, she felt pain. His pain.

“Oh, Ben,” she cried, “answer me. Please!”

And he did, his answer through their link weak and broken-sounding.

“Hello, beautiful,” he whispered.

Rey felt her heart squeeze in her chest suddenly.

“Ben,” she said again, the only thing she could think to say. Oh, how she just wanted to reach out to him and touch him, hold him, feel the solid wonderful beauty of him. “Ben, what happened?” she was referring to the horrible disaster of a battle on Naboo. “Why didn’t you-” her voice suddenly cracked, a flood of emotion washing over her. “Why didn’t you call out to me to help you.”

He breathed deeply, labored. It hurt him to move much. Rey could taste blood in her mouth from biting her own cheek.

“Protect you,” he replied.

 _Protect me?!_ Rey thought. Of course…of course he would do that. He seemed to like doing that all the time, but…

“Ben, we’re a team,” she said to him. “You and me. Ben and Rey.”

He smiled then. Rey felt it more so than saw it.

“My Rey,” he whispered.

And then he was fading. Their connection…Rey was losing it again.

“Ben!” she shouted, and she wasn’t sure if she did so only through their link or out loud, but either way it didn’t make a difference: the wall between their connection was back in place again.

She blinked her eyes, the dark vision of Ben suddenly changed into the warm, summer-like setting of Endor. Slowly, she rocked herself back into a sitting position, too shaken up to move just yet and felt a fresh batch of tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh Ben,” she whispered, her hands shaking as they reached up to wipe at her face. _Where are you? What have they done to you?_

The young woman stayed seated like that for several long moments, then from somewhere nearby she heard someone shouting her name.

“Rey?!”

Turning, she saw Finn racing over to her; it was only then she saw other people had also paused from what they were doing around the busy tarmac to stare at her as well.

“Rey! Rey! Are you alright?” Finn called to her before coming to an abrupt stop beside her.

Rey looked at her hands – the trembling had subsided – then pushed herself to a standing position.

“I’m fine,” she said, although her quivering voice said otherwise. Finn eyed her with concern and she added, “I just –” She paused then, wondering just how she was going to explain herself. Would Finn believe her? Did it really matter? It was the truth anyway. “I just felt something with Ben through the Force.”

Finn said nothing. Her and Ben’s relationship had not been easy for him to accept. But he respected her and her choices – trusted her - and that touched her more than she could say.

“I need to find him, Finn,” she whispered.

Her friend closed his eyes; it was several seconds before he opened them again and then said rather stiffly, “I know.” Placing a friendly hand on her shoulder he added, “Now let’s go get everyone else to agree to help.”

Rey looked gratefully at her friend. “Okay,” she said, but first she wanted to talk to Leia about Ben.

* * *

 

**Luke**

Luke glanced at his sister and Rey tucked into a rather private corner of the control room; they appeared to be deep in a conversation – a rather serious one by the looks of the frowns on both their faces. He considered investigating the situation but decided against it.

 _They’re probably discussing Ben,_ he thought as he watched Leia rub Rey’s arm comfortingly. And what more could he possibly add to the topic? Not much except the reassurance that they were going to find him.

Tearing his eyes from the two women, he gazed around at the others who were starting to assemble around the map table; many were new faces, at least to him, and some were ones he had known since he was a young man, but they were all gathered there for the same purpose: to save the galaxy.

 _And perhaps Ben,_ Luke couldn’t help but think.

He prayed so.

Softly, someone tapped him on his arm. The Jedi Master turned and was surprised to see Chrys standing next to him.

“I thought you’d be resting now?” he said, his voice embarrassingly gentle. _Great galaxy, he was too old to be speaking so – so – so…_

Chrys grinned which brightened up her whole face and strangely the rest of the rather somber room for Luke. “It got a little boring just lying around in bed,” she said. “And besides, this is where all the action is at the moment.”

“It’s only been a few hours since you were shot by a blaster…almost critically!”

The redhead shrugged. “It’s going to take a little bit more than that to knock me down.”

Luke was about to respond when Leia abruptly appeared and called everyone gathered to order.

“Many of you are probably wondering why I called this impromptu meeting,” she said, her eyes slowly traveling around the circle of faces; for a moment, she locked gazes with Luke and he gave her an encouraging nod. “If you are thinking it has something to do with what happened on Naboo: you are correct. But,” long pause, “it is also because of something very personal to me.” 

The room grew very quiet at this announcement and several pairs of eyes darted around the table at each other; Luke observed a few glance his way but kept his focus trained on his sister.

 _You can do it, Leia,_ he silently encouraged her.

Taking a deep breath, his twin, the General, said, “The First Order has my son.”

Anxious chatter immediately broke out.

“What?” Admiral Ackbar shouted. “How can this be?!”

“I didn’t know this. How long has he been their prisoner?” a young woman named Lieutenant Connix, whom Luke was recently introduced to, enquired.

“Why didn’t you tell us this a long time ago?” the pilot Snap Wexley asked.

Leia raised her hands up before her as if to ward off their questions; next to her Rey looked weary but supportive. Poe Dameron a couple of people down seemed coolly impassive, and Finn’s usually expressive face appeared neutral, although his eyes said something else.

“It has been a very private matter,” Leia replied, her voice carefully controlled. “And one very very few people have known about for the sake of the Resistance.”

Leia was peppered with more questions, but the next one she responded to was one offered up by Snap.

“With all due respect, General, why are you telling us this now?”

The room immediately hushed.

Luke found his sister looking to him briefly, then watched her train her eyes on the questioning pilot.

“Because,” she said, “I believe he is key in helping us defeat Snoke.” Her hand reached out and immediately Rey stretched forward to clasp it. “Along with Rey here.” A smile much like one a mother and daughter would share passed between the two women.

There were several seconds of silence, then Snap proceeded to ask another more probing question.

“Was your son the man we saw taken prisoner on Naboo – the one with the bright red lightsaber?”

Without hesitation or fear, Leia said bluntly, “Yes.”

Small murmurings among the group broke out, and a beat or two later, Snap was again the one to speak.

“Pardon my frankness, General,” he said, “but is your son Kylo Ren?”

It wasn’t even a second later that Rey responded.

“No!” she said loudly, then immediately blushed; around the table eyes snapped in her direction and all whispering stopped. In a softer tone the young woman added, “His name is Ben and I - I know him.” Then, even quieter, her eyes shiny with tears that she refused to shed, she said, “We have to save him.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Luke observed Finn shift uncomfortably, but other than that, most people appeared frozen in place, perhaps unsure how to broach the flow of the conversation. It was then that Luke decided to finally speak up.

“And we will,” he said to Rey but really addressing the whole crowd of people. “Because Leia’s right: we need him.” Breath. “The galaxy needs him.”

Him and Rey.

_For balance._

The realization slipped into Luke’s brain and settled there, like a piece of a puzzle finally falling into the right place.

_Of course!_

The Light and the Dark. The day and the night. The summer and the winter.

Opposites. Balance. Equal.

Admiral Ackbar spoke then. “How is this to be accomplished?”

Luke reached into a pocket. “With this,” he said, holding up the small tracking device he had shown Leia earlier. “Whose other end is attached to one of the First Order ships we encountered on Naboo. And wherever that ship is going I am positive is where Ben is.”

Rey let out an excited gasp and her lips curved into a huge smile. Next to him, Luke heard Chrys whisper, “Smart thinking, Jedi,” and a sudden heat crept across his face.

_He really was too old for that…_

“But the real question is,” Poe interrupted an excited chatter that had broken out then, “even if that does,” and he nodded his head toward Luke’s still raised hand, “lead us straight to the General’s son, how do we get to him? Chances are he’s probably on that huge Star Destroyer I saw back at Naboo, and if you don’t mind me being straight with you, Master Skywalker, the Resistance isn’t exactly in a place at the moment capable of battling a ship that size. We got lucky with Starkiller, but I’m not going to hold my breath for such a chance again like that.”

Luke looked to Leia to respond, but oddly she remained quiet. Instead, it was Finn who broke a silence that had begun to form after Poe’s reality check speech.

“But the First Order does need to be stopped,” the young man said. “We’ve all seen what they’re capable of.” He paused briefly, clearly thinking over his next words carefully, then added, “And if saving the General’s son in some hare-brained rescue mission is what it takes to do that, then okay, I guess I’m in. Sign me up.”

“Me too,” Chrys said, apparently undaunted by any injury.

Chewbacca let out a mighty roar.

“I suppose R2-D2 and I might be of some service,” C-3PO stated.

“I as well,” Admiral Ackbar joined in.

Gradually, everyone else around the table was asserting their desire to lend a hand.

“Alright,” Poe said, “so we’re all in on this. Now what?”

Once again, everyone grew quiet, thinking. Eventually, Leia spoke, saying, “I have some favors I can call in with some of my old political associates. Perhaps we can acquire some extra ships through that avenue.”

Ships…

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Luke’s head. Ships! They had extra ships! Ones that could be quite useful at that.

“Leia,” he called out to his sister; instantaneously, heads swiveled in his direction. “Those First Order ships I acquired on Ahch-To. We can use those to seek entry wherever Ben is.”

His twin considered him for a moment, her demeanor interestingly more authoritative than sisterly. “It’d be a big risk.”

“Huge,” he agreed.

“Absolutely no guarantees.”

“Usually how it seems to go for us.”

Suddenly, Chrys cut in. “But that’s why it’s a good thing you have me,” she said. Everyone stared at the redhead, and she explained, “I can get us in. As a Stormtrooper of the First Order. I have the credibility.”

Silence.

Then Finn spoke,

“But isn’t it possible you were seen and recognized at Naboo? If even one person saw you there and knew who you were, don’t you think he would report it?”

Chrys raised an eyebrow as if in challenge. “Of course it’s possible. But highly unlikely.” Then she smiled. “I mean _me_ …a rebel? You remember how I was when we first met. I hated your guts. All of you. I was a true servant of the institution. It would probably never occur to most of those people that I would abandon the cause…not in a billion years. Not TK-4111.”

Luke ran a hand over his beard.

_Truly it must have been the work of the Force that this woman had come into his life – all of their lives – for a reason. Perhaps this was it…_

“We still have all that Stormtrooper armor?” he asked his sister.

Leia gazed at him a moment, then quirked her lips just a fraction. “Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?” she asked.

While the rest of the meeting’s attendees stared at the twins in stunned silence – probably couldn’t believe the General had just made a comment on her Jedi Master brother’s height in front of them, Luke smiled at his sister’s inside joke. “Probably,” he shrugged. “But that’s where my Jedi powers come in handy.”

Still no one spoke.

Then, a few awkward moments later, Poe clapped his hands, and said, “Okay, so let’s hammer down a plan now.”

Luke caught his sister’s eye and winked. Next to him, Chrys whispered, “There’s a story behind that comment the General just made to you, isn’t there?”

Luke said nothing but felt his lips curl into a smile nonetheless.

* * *

 

**Rey**

While Leia, Poe, and several other high-ranking members of the Resistance discussed Master Luke’s tracking device and other important military tactics related to what could be a possible upcoming battle, Rey found herself in the storage room where the Stormtrooper suits were being temporarily kept.

 _Not for much longer, though,_ she mused as she lightly knocked her fingers against the hard, white armor, her thoughts flickering to Finn and the life he had been living up until they met on Jakku. It didn’t even seem possible that the kind-hearted young man had once been a servant of the First Order, wearing an ensemble exactly like the one she saw before her.

Briefly, the young woman found herself wondering how many other men and women within the ranks of the First Order wished for a life different than the one they had. Finn had been a lucky one able to escape the clutches of the evil organization. 

She prayed Ben could be so too.

Suddenly, a door slid open behind her; turning around she saw Master Luke entering the dimly lit room.

“Inspecting our disguises?” he asked.

Rey didn’t answer his question but instead asked one of her own. “Has it been decided who’s all going yet?” She was ready to get this mission started. She was ready to find Ben.

“You, me, Finn, Chrys, Chewbacca, Leia –”

“Leia?” Rey interrupted. She had not been expecting this. The last thing she wanted was for something to happen to the older woman, and this venture would surely be fraught with peril.

“She’s dead set on it.”

Slowly Rey nodded her head. She understood Leia’s desire to go. Ben was her son, after all. And she was a was strong, resilient, fearless leader, but still the idea made her a little uneasy.

Best not to dwell on it. 

Instead, she turned her attention to a different matter.

“Has Ben’s location been determined yet?”

Luke reached out and tapped at the Stormtrooper armor nearest him. Rey watched the movement wondering what kind of memories the suit pulled up for him. Leia had made some sort of comment at the meeting…

“Rey,” Luke said in a way which indicated it wasn’t an answer to her question. “I have something I want you to hold onto for a little while.”

The young woman looked at the Jedi curiously and watched with interest as he reached deep into a pocket of his robes. When his hand reappeared, she gasped.

“Your lightsaber?!” she exclaimed. “I thought I had lost that somewhere on Ahch-To.”

“Ben’s lightsaber, actually,” Luke said. “I had given it to him years ago. Before…”

He didn’t need to say anymore, she knew. And she realized then that Ben hadn’t just been saying the lightsaber was his just because it happened to belong to his family – it really had been his.

She reached forward and Luke set the saber into her waiting hand.

“I have a feeling he’s going to need it when we find him,” Luke said, his voice sad yet hopeful.

Rey smiled and slipped the weapon into a pouch she was carrying with her.

Abruptly, the Jedi cleared his throat. “And to answer your question: The Unknown Regions. And my guess is that, which I’m almost certain I’m right about, they’re heading toward some kind of rendezvous with Snoke.”

Rey shivered at the Supreme Leader’s name – at the creature that had preyed upon Ben and corrupted him…nearly destroyed him.

Now she would return the favor.

* * *

 

**TK-4149**

TK-4149 checked the speed set on her treadmill and increased it; her hair, pinned back and tightly braided per regulations, thumped against her back like a low, dull thud in rhythm with the pounding of her shoes against the fast-moving machine. Her heart, in response, also beat quicker.

Everything in tune. In sync. Just right.

Everything that was but her own thoughts: they were a mess.

Ever since Naboo. Ever since she saw General Hux beating Kylo Ren. Ever since…

She turned up the treadmill’s speed another notch and forced herself to focus on the slap-slap sound of her feet hitting the polyurethane belt beneath them.

Then TK-4150 slipped onto a machine next to hers.

“How are you?” he asked without preamble – usually how it went with them. He glanced at her speed. “Going pretty fast there.”

“Not fast enough,” she replied between breaths.

TK-4150 chuckled and began to program his own treadmill; his speed, she noted, was a few levels below hers.

“Are you planning on running some kind of marathon?” he asked once he was moving.

“Yeah,” she mumbled, “from the First Order.”

TK-4150 snapped his head toward her. “What did you say?” he asked, his voice low, his eyes darting nervously around.

TK-4149 shot him a look and didn’t reply.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” he whispered, serious. “Even jokingly. Not here.”

“Why?”

“You know why!”

TK-4149 wiped a hand across her brow where sweat threatened to drip into her eyes. “They’re going to be coming for us…For him.”

TK-4150 looked around to see if anyone was nearby, then dropping his voice low again said, “Who are you talking about?”

TK-4149 said nothing for a few seconds, just let her feet carry her ever on in an endless race. Then,

“The Resistance, of course.”

She waited for TK-4150’s rebuke, but it never came. Instead he appeared to be ignoring her.

 _Probably the safest thing for him to do,_ she reasoned.

He had always been her anchor during their time with the First Order. Her closest ally. But in a matter like this, well, it was a pretty bold thing to talk about. And he was the last person in the whole of the First Order she’d want to see hurt for her wild talk.

But then he surprised her as he said, “I know.”

And she felt a relief that she hadn’t realized she had been hoping for.

“But that doesn’t mean you should go around saying those kinds of things _in public areas_ ,” he added.

TK-4149 didn’t reply. His admission of the truth had been all she needed to hear, so she let a silence settle between them as she mulled over the implications of her own words. In truth, they weren’t ones she liked, and nothing - certainly not an accelerated speed set on her treadmill – could distract her from them.

She paused the exercise program and took a sip from a water bottle, her hands visibly shaking. TK-4150 noticed.

“Hey,” he said, stopping his own machine, “you okay?”

She swallowed some more water and shook her head. “I’m afraid,” she whispered.

“Of what?”

TK-4149 looked around the exercise facility, at people she had known for years and some not at all. People who were there to keep their bodies fit to regulation standards just like her. People who were probably just going to end up…

“Dying,” she said weakly. Then she turned her eyes back to TK-4150. “I don’t want to die. Not for the First Order.”

A heartbeat passed. Then another. TK-4150 stared at her. In fact, it felt like the whole of the room was staring at her, and she glanced around to see if they were, but no, it was just her imagination.

She began to gather her things then, acknowledging that she had probably gone too far this time with her words, but then a hand shot out grabbing her arm and she stared at it.

“I know you don’t,” TK-4150 said so quietly she barely heard it at all. “And there are others too…”

TK-4149’s head shot up. _Had she just heard him right?!_ The steely look in TK-4150’s eyes told her she had. What did he know that she didn’t?!

“What do you mean?” she asked.

TK-4150 released her and ran a hand over his short black hair, a movement so very human. “Maybe it’s time we get ourselves noticed,” he said meaningfully.

TK-4149 caught the reference. “How?” _And where was this cryptic talk all coming from?!_

Her oldest friend looked around the room once then back at her. “Maybe the Resistance can help us.”


	28. Chapter 28

**Snoke**

“We are approaching your location, sir,” the holoprojection of General Hux proudly announced; the officer’s demeanor even as a flickering image radiated a confident haughtiness that was hard to miss. “Ren will be ready to make the trip to meet you as soon as you command.”

Snoke breathed in a long slow pull of air at the news. Finally. _Finally_. The Skywalker heir was his once again. 

“Very good, General,” he replied. _Indeed, very very good._ But…

The reunion between master and apprentice would have to wait…at least for a time. In fact, one could say he needed to prepare himself for it…

“However, I have a business of my own to attend to first.” Hux appeared flummoxed by this statement for a moment – perhaps mystified that some other matter could be of greater importance to the Supreme Leader than the one he brought forward, but just as swiftly smoothed his face to an obedient, neutral mask.

“Of course, sir,” Hux replied, his voice even, no hint of displeasure at his superior’s sudden declaration of delay. Then there was a long pause, the General seemingly waiting for the Supreme Leader to possibly expand on his statement, but when he didn’t, the officer simply and rightfully said, “I will be awaiting your call.”

Snoke did not reply. He didn’t need to. He was the Supreme Leader. Instead, he simply ended the connection.

Then smiled and once more filled his lungs with air – crisp, cold mountain air.

Hux’s image now gone, he looked with pleasure around the summit of the barren rocky mountain that jutted from its planet’s surface at an elevation unequaled by any other natural structure, and out beyond at the sweeping sight of other soaring peaks underneath a cloudy gray sky.

To some, it may have been a lonely, desolate view, all steep, back-breaking cliffs and precipices, nary a sign of life in sight except for a stray bird or bat, flown higher than where any vegetation could go grow or other nourishment be sustained, but to him, it was…

Literally the top of the world.

And that…

That was power.

Which was probably why Force-users once upon a time had built a small temple there, now long gone except for a few remnants of some collapsed stone walls that marked what it once was.

But the most important thing about the place…a spring of water, fed from a source deep within the mountain, that was still there.

And Snoke had every intention of using it. His body, his mind, his spirit…they all had to be cleansed. Purified. In preparation for his greatest endeavor.

* * *

 

**Leia**

For a moment, Leia felt weak. Lightheaded even. She had anticipated that Ben would be taken to Snoke. She didn’t know exactly where, a planet most likely, but she hadn’t expected it to be what she saw directly in front of her.

And that…that was a problem. A big one. And it was one that was going to take some very quick strategizing on how to handle it.

A Star Destroyer. Okay, yeah. They could deal with that. They had a pretty good plan in place. But that…

What did somebody even call that?

As if on cue, Chrys said, “A Mega-class Star Destroyer,” and all eyes on the small First Order shuttle currently filled with Resistance members and a few Knights of Ren swiveled in her direction.

The redhead, oblivious to the stares, kept her own eyes locked on the hulking gray vessel that hung menacingly in space next to its smaller counterpart, the _Finalizer_.

“I had heard talk,” the younger woman continued, her voice growing softer with each word. Then, “That’s the Supreme Leader of the First Order’s flagship.”

Leia suddenly felt herself nodding her head without quite knowing why, but…it made sense. The monster-sized ship.

Of course, _of course_ , Snoke would have to have the best of the best.

_He did take Ben, after all…_

She shivered. She hated that monster. She. Hated. Him. He had taken everything good in her life and destroyed it, corrupted it. If only she had realized what he was up to so much sooner…

Luke reached a hand out then and placed it on her shoulder.

“We can do this,” he said, reassuring as always. “The Force has led us here, we must now count on it to keep leading us along to the end.”

Leia closed her eyes, breathing deeply, trying to reach out with her limited Force abilities for that calm that her brother so often seemed to tap into.

Eventually, she said, “It’s not going to be easy.”

Her twin smiled. “It never is.”

Rey scooted her way over closer to Leia and slipped her gloved hand into the older woman’s. “We’re going to save him, Leia,” she said.

“We’re going to save the galaxy,” Finn added.

Chewbacca roared in agreement.

Leia felt her lips lift slightly, warmed by her companions unending faith and strength. Whatever happened, she knew they were all in this together.

“So how do we proceed?” she looked to Luke for the answer to this question. “What do we do about _that_?” and she waved her hand toward the Mega Star Destroyer.

Luke pulled his lower lip between his teeth, contemplative. Seeing him thinking like that, Leia felt herself take a step back in time for a second, to a situation not quite identical to the one they were in now, but similar in the fact that they were one small group against a much larger organization, and how it had been her and Luke working together back then as well.

She was, of course, remembering the destruction of the Death Star…both of them.

Well, if they could destroy those things against all odds, there was hope…

“We continue with the original plan of boarding the _Finalizer_ ,” Luke finally replied.

Silence.

“And then?” Finn prompted.

The Jedi Master sighed. “We’re probably going to have to split up. Chances are pretty high that Ben is going to end up on that other ship if he isn’t already over there. So some of us are going to need to go wherever Ben is, and the other half should stay aboard the _Finalizer_ and…”

Abruptly he paused, and Leia detected an uncertainty in her brother. Unusual.

“What is it, Luke?” she asked him anxiously.

He shook his head and smiled weakly. “I guess I’m feeling a little less rash in my old age than I did say over thirty some odd years ago. This whole situation. I don’t like it. Breaking up the group so much and so far, but I feel like we don’t have much of a choice.”

Chrys walked over by Luke and grasped his arm; Leia didn’t miss the look that passed between the two. “You’re right,” the redhead said gently but firmly, “we don’t, so what next?”

Luke looked out toward the massive ships hovering in a rather hard-to-miss kind of fashion in front of them. “We need to commandeer the _Finalizer_.”

“And the other group?” Rey piped up. “The one going to look for Ben?” Leia knew without asking who was going to be in that group.

Luke turned to the young brunette. “Find Ben,” he said. “Confront Snoke. And whatever other high-ranking officials there are over there –”

“Hux,” Chrys cut in. “General Hux. He’s in charge of the _Finalizer_ and everyone who’s anyone in the First Order knows he’s the Supreme Leader’s right-hand man. My bet is he will be with Ben.”

A moment passed, then Finn said, “And take over that ship as well?”

Luke exhaled noisily. “Well that would be nice, but I just mainly want to get out of it alive.” There was a long pause as everyone mulled over the full impact of the Jedi’s words, then he added, “We’re just going to have to cross certain bridges when we come to them. We want to destroy the First Order, yes, but we need to be logical about it. Once we get Snoke out of the picture, once we get the _Finalizer_ in our control, and I know that’s a big ‘if’, then we can start thinking bigger ideas.”

Leia nodded, suddenly thinking something. “We’ve learned a lot since the destruction of the Emperor - that just because the main figurehead is gone doesn’t mean the rest of the institution is.”

The General watched as everyone absorbed this information silently.

 _Good_ , she thought, _they need to know this_. It had been a very hard lesson that she had learned and not one she wanted to repeat.

C-3PO, who had been strangely quiet up until then, stepped forward.

“I will be glad to assist in whatever way I can, General,” he said. He laid a golden hand on the dome of the small astromech beside him and added, “Artoo as well.”

Leia looked gratefully at the trusty droids she had known all her life. “Thank you, Threepio. We’re probably going to need it.” With that being said, it was time to get down to business. She turned to Chrys. “We’re ready to contact the _Finalizer_ whenever you are.”

The redhead nodded. “Here goes nothing then,” she said, and she made her way over to the control panel. With the flipping of a few switches and the pressing of some buttons, she tapped out a message to the Star Destroyer’s control center.

Within seconds, a man’s voice, cool and commanding, rang out loud and clear throughout their small shuttle.

“This is Lieutenant Cafferty of the _Finalizer_. We do not recognize your ship. Please identify yourselves immediately.”

Chrys held a button down and Leia felt her breathing stop. “This is Stormtrooper TK-4111 reporting. I can send you my information for identification. My crew and I –”

“Please send us the data,” Lieutenant Cafferty’s voice interrupted, his tone almost bored sounding, something Leia instantly noted. If the staff on duty were disinterested enough, maybe they would be able to board the Star Destroyer without issue.

She crossed her fingers and watched as Chrys pulled open a small compartment to her right; a second later, the young woman submitted herself to a retinal and fingerprint scan.

Less than a minute later, Cafferty said,” TK-4111, why is your ship not registering on our network?”

In her best scathing voice, Chrys replied, “The Resistance, sir. They commandeered our ship,” Leia couldn’t help but notice she used a word Luke had said earlier, “as well as took us prisoner on the galaxy forsaken planet Ahch-To. But we rebelled, sir. We rebelled and we killed them. We took back our ship and brought along a prisoner as proof. A prisoner that might be quite useful to the First Order.”

Leia glanced at Chewbacca. She hated always having to use him in this kind of capacity. But he couldn’t very well fit in a Stormtrooper suit. And like it or not, she couldn’t deny that he had a certain level of status in the galaxy as a known Resistance sympathizer…therefore a perfect pretend hostage.

“Who is the prisoner?” the Lieutenant asked.

“Chewbacca,” Chrys answered, and she glanced over her shoulder at the Wookie and stretched a hand out to him; he immediately wrapped his own big furry one around hers in friendly reassurance. “A friend of the smuggler Han Solo, late husband of the Princess Leia Organa.”

* * *

 

**TK-4149**

With interest, TK-4149 watched as the shuttle bearing TK-4111 entered the _Finalizer’s_ hangar. She wasn’t really supposed to be there, but when TK-4150 had caught her in the hall on her way from the medical bay after her rounds and very quietly whispered the news of an approaching unregistered shuttle that bore a bunch of missing Stormtroopers to her, she couldn’t not dash her way as fast as she could to the ship storage area.

After their conversation in the exercise facility, TK-4149 had shared everything she had been feeling since the battle at Naboo and even before in great detail. She left nothing out. Particularly the detail about the MIA Stormtrooper TK-4111.

Especially that.

And TK-4150, her best friend for life, took it all in stride, even smiling about the bit about their former fellow trooper who had gone rogue, mentioning how such information could be very valuable and he would make sure to pass it on to the right people.

 _Which maybe he had,_ she thought, as she watched from her vantage point behind a pillar, as several fake – she knew they had to be – Stormtroopers exited the small shuttle with a tall, brown-haired Wookie in shackles in tow. Immediately upon their appearance, a couple of officers walked over to the group, and, without too much exchange of information, outside of some strange hand waving by one or two of their number, began escorting the new arrivals from the hangar and right past TK-4149’s own hiding place.

That was when she decided to follow them.

* * *

 

**Finn**

They were on the _Finalizer_! Yes!

Finn wanted to punch his hand into the air. He didn’t quite know how Chrys had managed it, but she had. And thanks to some of the Jedi tricks that Rey and Master Skywalker had been able to do, their arrival had gone smoothly.

Now they just needed to ditch their escorts…

And once they were in the first empty hallway they came to that was just what they did, as Finn swung swiftly around and punched the nearest chaperoning officer, knocking him in an unconscious heap to the floor; Chewbacca, whose shackles were a sham, followed suit.

Once that was accomplished, the Resistance group, with Finn and Chrys as the leaders because they knew the ship, made their way into the nearest private location they could think of: a refresher.

“Alright,” Finn said, removing his helmet, “here we are. The _Finalizer_.”

“In a manner of speaking,” Leia commented, removing her helmet as well and revealing a head of hair in which nothing looked out of place. “Now where do we go from here?”

“I’m going wherever Ben is,” Rey said as if everyone didn’t already know that.

Suddenly, the door to the refresher made a whooshing sound, and everyone’s eyes zoomed to the location as it slid open revealing a young woman wearing the galaxy-wide emblem for a medic. Immediately, several blasters rose into the air.

“Don’t shoot!” the young woman pleaded desperately. “I – I’m on your side!”

Finn just stared.

What?!

His eyes roamed the length of the woman. Shiny black hair, entrancing dark eyes, perfect posture. He didn’t recognize her, but that wasn’t unsurprising; he hadn’t known a lot of the people who were his fellow subordinates.

“Who are you?” he asked. “How do you know who we are?”

It was Chrys who replied. “She’s TK-4149,” she said, eying the newcomer with a mixture of surprise and amusement.

Suddenly, before anyone could comment, the door slid open again. This time a Stormtrooper – a real one – poked their head in.

“Every time!” the soldier said irritably, glancing around at the tightly packed room. “Every time I come to this refresher there’s always a line!” And he turned to leave, his focus thankfully having only been on needing to use the facilities and not on the very odd assortment of people gathered there.

“Can someone please do something about that door!” Finn waved his arms looking at Rey and Skywalker after the troop was gone. Before either Force-user could reply, Chewbacca shot at the power panel next to the door with a blaster he had pilfered from one of the fallen officers.

“Thank you, Chewie,” the young man looked gratefully at the Wookie. Then, picking right up where the previous conversation had left off, he said, “Now, what is she doing here?” and he looked at the young woman medic with skepticism.

The medic took a few more steps into the room. “I followed you,” she said. “I know who you are and I want to help.” There was a long stretch of silence, and then she added, “A lot of us do.”

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey only half-listened as the medic told their group how there were apparently at least a couple dozen people if not more spread throughout the _Finalizer_ who were sympathetic to their cause – of overthrowing the First Order, but she couldn’t help it, though, all she could think about was Ben, who she had been unsuccessfully trying to communicate with since she had set foot on the Star Destroyer.

 _So close_ , she thought. _So close but so far_. 

And this worried her more than she was trying to let on.

The memory of him – wherever he was – in the dark, hurt…alone. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest. They had to find him. _She_ had to find him.

“ – they’re taking him to the Supreme Leader’s ship within the hour.”

Rey snapped her attention to the medic. What did she say?! She looked around at Luke and Leia and found them both looking at her.

“Then some of us need to be on that transport shuttle,” Leia said, her eyes staring at Rey in understanding, as if she knew where the young woman’s thoughts had been. “Know any way of getting us there?”

The medic smiled. “Well, those suits you’re all wearing…er…except for the Wookie,” she flashed her eyes at Chewbacca, “are definitely helpful. But yeah, I know someone who could probably be of assistance.”

Finn clapped his hands together. “Great,” he said, “and while all that’s going on, the rest of us are going to take over the _Finalizer_.”

Suddenly, Luke spoke up. “Alright, that’s all good, but how are we going to open the door now to get out of here?”

Everyone stared at the now melted power panel on the wall.

Leia held a comlink up. “I’ll call the droids.”

Luke reached out and grabbed his sister’s arm, halting her. “Also,” he said, “tell them to be ready to meet us. We’re going to need them. And tell Threepio _I_ was the one who said that.”

Leia nodded, but it was Rey who met the Jedi Master’s gaze.

* * *

 

**Ben**

His head and neck hurt. Really, everything did, but those two body parts especially. His neck from being bent at an uncomfortable angle for the Force only knew how long, and his head because of…

The drugs.

Ben let out a groan and slowly cracked his eyes open. Not that it made much difference whether they were open or shut where he was; it was always dark there. In his cage.

Frustrated, he kicked his shackled feet out before him, listening as the old-fashioned metal clanked noisily against the floor.

_Galaxy, how long had he been in that place?_

Rey’s face immediately swam before him in his still dazed state as well as the memory of their last brief Force connection. His beautiful beautiful Rey…

The young man took a deep breath, quickly forgetting his own pain and suddenly thinking only of hers – of the desperation and grief he had felt when they spoke through their link – strong emotions he knew he had brought about in her. And not only those but something deeper…

Something his heart…

Then he felt it. Felt her. Again. But not the same as the last time. But her presence. He could feel her there at the edge of this mind. As if she had been trying to reach him. Recently. But he must have been out…drugged.

His heart started to pound ridiculously fast in his chest then. Where was she? Was she safe? He wanted to reach out to her, but he was so afraid. So afraid of something happening to her…

“Rey,” he whispered.

That was when the door slid open blasting too bright light into his face.

“I see you’re up,” Hux sneered stepping into the room; behind him Stormtroopers stood hovering in the wings. “Did the little prince have a good nap?” 

Ben let out a low growling sound and spat on the floor near the General’s immaculately shined boot. Hux narrowed his eyes but didn’t otherwise acknowledge the insult.

“You should consider yourself fortunate that the Supreme Leader has such an interest in you,” the officer hissed, “because if it were up to me – ”

“If it were up to you,” Ben interrupted, “I’d be kept bound and gagged while you proceeded with your pathetic attempts at beating me to death with your own soft, pasty hands.”

Not even a breath later, the sound of a stinging slap filled the cell.

“Mind your manners, Ren!” Hux snapped, his eyes bulging. “You may be under the Supreme Leader’s protection currently, but I have his ear. And while I have no control over what happens with you, I can certainly have an impact on those you… _love_.”

Ben said nothing but looked at his former peer with cold contempt. The very thought of that red-haired freak doing something to those he cared about…Rey, his mother…it made his stomach twist in knots.

“Ah,” Hux said in a slimy gleeful voice, “upset you have I? Thinking about your royal mother or scavenger girl, maybe?”

“I will kill you,” Ben snarled, his body straining against his shackles. “I will rip your head from your body and burn it. I will –”

Hux laughed. “You’ll do nothing!” he grinned. “Nothing!” Then, abruptly, he sobered. “At least not until after your meeting with the Supreme Leader is over. And after that, who knows what kind of shape you’ll be in.” The General turned away and motioned to the Stormtroopers behind him. “Give him another injection. We’ve got an appointment to keep.”

And with that, the officer left the cell, leaving Ben staring down the length of a tranquilizer gun. Apparently, they had learned a thing since Naboo…


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers...Have any questions about Across the Galaxy, Star Wars, future fanfictions, or writing in general? I am now on Tumblr as scholasticawrites. Thanks for reading!

**C-3PO**

C-3PO nervously glanced left and right around the large hangar, expecting to see a blaster pointed in his direction – as he felt was so often the case, but was grateful however to discover that most anyone of an organic nature was not present. Thank the Maker!

“Come, Artoo,” he instructed his astromech companion rather pushily, leading the way from the ship they had locked themselves in since arriving on the Star Destroyer - a place C-3PO would have preferred to stay safely tucked inside of until this whole dangerous mission business was done. “Master Luke should be on his way back to the hangar now. We must hurry!” 

R2-D2 beeped testily in response as he rolled down the shuttle’s ramp.

“No, I will not be quiet,” Threepio replied. “I have something very important for Master Luke and Miss Rey as you know, and I would appreciate it if you acted just a little more concerned.” Then, as if to further prove his point, he cradled a small silver briefcase closer to his side.

Artoo made another beeping sound, which C-3PO chose to ignore, and zipped right on past the harried protocol droid toward a secluded alcove the two had been recently informed about. Why everyone couldn’t just come back to the shuttle to meet again, Threepio didn’t understand, but it certainly put him in a tough spot as he had to cross what equaled to him a warzone.

He made it, though, but was soon dismayed to discover that neither Master Luke nor Princess Leia nor anyone for that matter was there yet.

“Oh, I do hope they’re okay,” he fretted to R2-D2 as he looked anxiously about the large, open space. “Humans have such a knack for getting themselves into trouble. Particularly our humans.”

C-3PO was so thankful to be a droid.

“Nobody ever notices us droids,” he continued. “I suppose that’s why we’re so important. We can just come and go as we please and no one ever thinks twice about us.” His worries from moments ago seemingly forgotten.

Suddenly, a gloved hand grabbed the golden droid and pulled him around.

“Hey, what are you droids doing here?” a Stormtrooper – and not one of Threepio’s disguised humans – demanded. “You have no business here.”

“Oh!” C-3PO exclaimed. “We were …um…” Abruptly, the droid lifted his arm bearing the briefcase and swung it at the soldier’s helmeted head with a force and mobility he didn’t realize he had. Instantly, the troop collapsed in a heap on the floor.

“Oh…oh my,” Threepio said surprised. “Well, um, that was unexpected.”

He was just about to ask R2-D2 what he thought they should do with the unconscious soldier when several more white-armored individuals ran up to them. Thankfully, they included a Wookiee among their number.

“Master Luke,” he said relieved. “Thank goodness!”

“Threepio,” Master Luke’s familiar voice said, “do you have what I need?” Then he paused, suddenly noticing the fallen Stormtrooper at his feet. “ _What_ happened here?!”

R2-D2 beeped, and those that could understand the astromech let out some amused laughter.

“Good for you, Threepio,” Master Luke patted a hand on his metal plated shoulder. “Getting the job done.”

“Yes, well, thank you,” C-3PO said, straightening himself. “Always here to help.” Then he held out his arm. “Here is your briefcase.”

Master Luke didn’t take the item, but instead beckoned a young woman dressed in a First Order medic uniform forward. “Which ship will they use to go over to the other Star Destroyer?”

It only took the woman a moment to glace around the hangar before she replied, pointing at a sleek, gray transport shuttle. “That one,” she said.

Master Luke nodded then turned back to C-3PO. “Threepio,” he said, “I want you to take the briefcase with you and board that ship.”

“P-pardon, Master Luke?” he stuttered. “That sounds-”

Master Luke shook his head. “You’ll attract less attention now going on than you would later when there are more people about to ask questions.”

The protocol droid was not reassured. “But what if someone is already on there, Master Luke? What if they ask questions like the Stormtrooper here did?” Suddenly, a scene of him surrounded by First Order personnel raised an alarm in him that he felt happened more times in his existence than should for a droid such as himself. “What if they try to shoot at me!?”

Master Luke did not seemed fazed by his concerns.

C-3PO glanced at the shuttle, so dangerously faraway, then back at Master Luke. “But Master Luke,” he implored, “couldn’t I just give it to one of you and return to our ship?”

“Not an option,” Master Luke replied. “I need you on that ship.”

Princess Leia, her short stature giving her identity away, stepped forward. “You’ll be fine, Threepio. We’ll be right behind you. Remember, this is for the galaxy.” She hesitated a moment before adding, “And for Ben.”

“Master Ben,” Threepio said, images of a little human boy, dark-haired and smiling, while he wiped his mother’s golden protocol droid with a cloth and some polish flashed through his memory. “Yes, yes, of course. For Master Ben.”

“Good. Thank you, Threepio,” Princess Leia said leaving no room for argument, and with that, C-3PO had no choice but to turn on his heels and head in the direction of the shuttle.

He glanced behind him once to see if R2-D2 was following him, but was surprised to realize he was by himself and Artoo was still back with Master Luke.

“Why am I always the one with the dangerous jobs?” he groused to himself as he made his way unhindered toward the enemy ship. “It must be my lot in life.”

* * *

 

**Luke**

Luke knelt down onto one leg and rested a hand on R2-D2’s dome. How many times over the years had he found himself facing the little droid in such a manner, preparing to share instructions of the most important kind…the type concerning life and death?

More than he could honestly remember.

But he trusted the droid with his life. With all of their lives. And he would never forget the day when he was only nineteen years old and a little blue and white astromech rolled into his uncle Owen’s house with a message that would inevitably change his life forever.

And so it was with a sincere affection and respect Luke looked at one of his oldest friends and said, “I have a job for you, Artoo.” The droid beeped once, and it seemed then as if everyone gathered leaned in a little closer to listen. “I need you to hack into the _Finalizer’s_ computer.” He paused, a heartbeat or two passing, then added, “I need you to override their system.”

Artoo beeped again and Luke smiled. “I know you can,” the Jedi Master said. “That’s why I requested it. And, although he doesn’t know it yet, I’m going to have Threepio open the Supremacy’s network,” he used the newly learned Mega-class Star Destroyer’s name, “so you can hopefully take over that ship’s system as well.”

Someone stepped forward and Finn’s voice said, “And we’ll be here to help him.” Chewbacca nodded his head in agreement and Chrys – Luke knew it had to be her – laid a hand on his shoulder in reassurance.

With an unexpected tightness in his throat, he rose to his feet.

That was when a new face suddenly arrived.

“TK-4150!” the medic exclaimed with gladness. “You found me! Is anyone else with you?” She looked around the newcomer. “You’re not going to believe who I have with me!”

Luke guessed this was one of the individuals who were sympathetic to their cause that the young woman spoke of in the refresher.

TK-4150, a tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed, young man, shook his head. “I’m alone, and I have an idea, or something of one, of who these people are. And if it’s who I’m thinking it is, and if they have some plans regarding a certain person onboard this ship, then they’ll want to hear what I have to say.”

“Please,” Leia stepped toward the young man, a slight desperation to her voice. “If you have information we can use. Please, tell us. Your help won’t be forgotten.”

The young man nodded, accepting Leia’s offer of good faith as easily as she had accepted his. “General Hux,” he said. “He’s having Kylo Ren prepared to come here right this minute, so whatever business you have here yet, I say you wrap it up and make your way over to that shuttle. From some sources of mine, I heard there are already a couple of troops on board. Most likely the pilots, so if you’re wanting to slip on…”

“Now is the time to do it,” Leia finished for him.

“And here I was thinking we were going to have to take a few of their guard out somehow to try and blend in,” Luke said. He glanced over at the shuttle and saw Threepio just walking up the ship’s ramp, his golden armor looking rather dull. He promised himself then to make sure the droid received a good polish when everything was all said and done.

Still, he believed it was for the best he had sent the droid on ahead. The Jedi Master wanted to attract as little attention as possible, and there was a good chance C-3PO would draw more than he cared for, especially if situations had worked out differently for them.

He turned to the medic and her friend.

“Do either of you have names?” he asked. “Real names?”

The medic smiled. “I’m Ellia,” she said. The young man beside her simply shook his head and replied, “I’d rather keep such pleasantries for later.”

Luke understood his hesitation and held out his hand to him. “I’m grateful for your help, all the same.”

The young man shook the proffered hand and said, “I wish you luck on your mission. I wish all of us luck.” And he stepped aside.

Chrys moved closer to him again. “I guess this is where we all separate,” she said.

Luke nodded but it was Rey who made any sort of farewell gesture. “Thank you, Chrys,” she said to the redhead. “I know we haven’t known each other long, and I’m sure this is the last place you want to be right now, but…thank you,” and she gave Chrys a quick hug before moving onto the others in the group who were staying on the _Finalizer_.

Leia also gave Chrys a hug, then gave a look to Luke once before stepping away as well. It briefly crossed Luke’s mind then how strange this scene would look to someone observing them - a bunch of Stormtroopers embracing each other – but the thought was gone as soon as it formed as Chrys suddenly stepped closer to him and said, “Well, Jedi, I guess this is it.”

“Is it?” Luke tossed back at her, unsure quite what he meant by that.

The woman bobbed her head, and Luke could almost feel the smile that was probably forming on her lips behind her helmet at his odd reply.

“Listen,” she said before things became awkward, “I want to say thank you.”

“Thank you for what?” Luke asked, his nerves suddenly acting up…as usual around her.

“Thank you for listening to me,” Chrys explained, seemingly unbothered by his anxious tone. “For allowing me a chance to help.”

Luke shifted slightly, desperately wishing he could take the clunky Stormtrooper helmet off and be done with it already. “It’s the same as we would do for anyone else in your position,” he replied, and then mentally kicked himself. 

_Great_ , he thought, _now I’ve probably made her feel like she’s unimportant_.

Which was not how he felt at all.

But she simply replied, “Maybe,” her tone implying she didn’t buy his aloof answer anyway.

Luke stuck out his hand for her to shake, but she just stared at it and didn’t lift her hand to take it.

“I’m not really a hand-shaker,” she said teasingly, and Luke would have given anything in that moment to see the expression on her face. A heartbeat later, she lightly nudged him with her elbow, said, “Be safe, Jedi,” and walked away over by Finn.

 _Be safe_ , Luke thought a moment later as Chewbacca pulled him in for a big furry hug. _All of you_.

* * *

 

**Finn**

Finn looked around at one person to the next; he couldn’t see the faces of all those assembled, but he had a pretty good idea about how they were all feeling: nervous.

But determined.

And he knew he was the one who was going to have to rally that determination.

“Anybody ready to take control of a Star Destroyer?” he asked.

Chewbacca let out a low growl and R2-D2 beeped. Chrys nodded her head and the Knights of Ren that were accompanying them adjusted the blasters in their hands. Ellia smiled and TK-4150 stared at him with a cordial respect.

“Alright then,” Finn said. “Where should we start?” He looked around the group for suggestions. “Master Skywalker said he needed R2-D2 to hack into the ship’s computer system...”

“And probably the best place to do that would be the bridge,” TK-4150 stated. “Certainly for the extent of what he wants done.”

Finn nodded in agreement, but then something occurred to him. _How?_

“You got a way for us to get in there?” he looked at the other young man. “No offense or anything, but last time I checked, only those with certain authorization were allowed onto the bridge. And I think our plan could go a heck of a lot easier if we didn’t draw attention right away with a big display breaking into a place.”

TK-4150 and Ellia looked at each other, a silent communication seemingly passing between them that reminded Finn of the looks he oftentimes saw Master Skywalker and General Organa sharing, then Ellia answered with a grin,” We may know someone.”

* * *

 

**Rey**

“Careful there, soldiers,” an unfamiliar voice ordered, a voice that spoke of superiority and discipline, of cruelty and hate. A voice that suddenly made Rey’s breathing increase and her hands clench into fists. “We don’t want the sweet prince delivered to the Supreme Leader injured.”

_Hux._

The name slipped into her thoughts and lodged itself there. It was as foul to her as the Supreme Leader’s own moniker.

A moment later, though, it was another name that came to her mind as she watched a group of Stormtroopers walking slowly up the ramp of the shuttle she and her friends had secretly hijacked – thanks largely in part to C-3PO.

“Ben,” she whispered.

Behind her in the cockpit, sitting in the pilot and copilot’s chairs, Luke and Leia shifted anxiously in their seats. She glanced once back at them, then returned her gaze to the approaching soldiers, and there, amongst them, she saw him.

She saw Ben. Unconscious, shackled, and pale. His skin, or what she could see of it, riddled with bruises. His head, covered in his beautiful black hair, hanging unsupported and lolling with each movement of his escort. And his scar, the thin, white line that crossed his face…

Her fingers itched at her side to touch it, caress it. Hold his whole face in her hands and…

“Pilot!” someone suddenly barked.

Rey snapped her gaze from Ben’s face and saw a tall, red-haired man leering at her from across the shuttle.

“S-sir,” she forced herself to salute him. Hux.

“We are ready to proceed over to the _Supremacy_ ,” the First Order General growled. “Please move to your appointed position.”

“Yes, sir,” Rey said, flicking one more look at Ben’s prone form before stepping back into the cockpit and closing the door behind her.

Then, as soon as she was no longer in view of any members of the First Order, she felt her body release an uncontrolled shudder and she slid along the closed door to the floor; Leia was beside her in an instant.

“He’s in there,” the young woman whispered to her, watching as Luke began flipping controls to actually do the job they were supposed to be doing. “Beaten and shackled like some kind of dangerous animal. He – he looked-” she forced down a sob as she said, “He looked terrible,”

Leia grasped her hand, holding it as Rey so often thought a mother would hold a child’s. “But he’s alive,” the older woman answered. “And we’re going to save him.”

Rey nodded and sat in silence for a moment, her mind wandering to Ben’s, but finding nothing but emptiness.

 _Soon_ , she told herself, and listened as Luke began discussing the plans for when they arrived on the other Star Destroyer.

“Once the ship is cleared out,” the Jedi Master said, “we’ll get C-3PO,” the droid was currently hidden underneath the floor grating with the two actual pilots who were currently unconscious, “and follow after Ben.” He was clearly about to say more, but then he suddenly grew quiet and several seconds passed during which the only sound to fill the cockpit was the low, purring noise of the ship’s engine.

Finally, exasperated, Leia said, “Oh, what else are you going to say, Luke?”

The Jedi Master sighed. “You’re not going to like it, but…”

“Well?!”

“We’re going to have to split up.”

Silence reigned once again in the small space.

A few beats later, though, Luke continued, “Two of us will go with Ben, and the other one is going to go with C-3PO to the nearest available computer station.”

“And let me guess,” Leia said, her voice more sour-sounding than Rey had ever heard it, “you want me to go with Threepio.”

“Well,” Luke stalled a little, “it does make the most sense logically.”

Next to her, Rey could feel Leia stiffen. “He’s my son, Luke!”

Luke jammed his finger down onto a button. “I know that!” he said. “But Threepio needs to open the _Supremacy’s_ network for Artoo. And besides…”

Rey waited for Leia to make another protest to her brother, but instead, she slumped defeatedly next to her. “The whole Force power thing, right?”

Luke didn’t confirm her question one way or another, but he did go on to say, “Leia, you know I want you to be able to see Ben again more than anything.”

“I know.”

And that was when they entered the _Supremacy’s_ hangar. 

The First Order’s exit process from the ship didn’t take long, and as soon as they were cleared out, Luke, Leia, and Rey quickly went about the business of extracting C-3PO from his hiding spot.

“What should we do about them?” Rey said, tilting her head toward the two pilots who were still out cold.

“Leave them down there,” Luke replied, and he moved the grate back into place over them. When he was back on his feet, the Jedi Master indicated it was time to depart the shuttle, and swiftly and quietly they hurried out into the hangar; they were unsurprised to discover that Hux and his entourage were already gone from the place.

“Come on,” Luke whispered, “let’s get out to a hallway. With any luck we’ll find another refresher to hide out in for a few moments. Threepio, keep a good hold on that briefcase.”

A minute or two later, the group located a supply closet. 

“Better than a garbage compactor,” Leia commented, pushing some buckets out of the way to make room for Rey beside her.

“Let’s pray this rescue mission is just as successful as that one,” Luke replied.

Rey listened to the siblings talk, and hoped that someday, when all this crazy galaxy-saving business was done, they could all sit down at some point and tell stories from the past, because she was sure there was a tale to what they were discussing.

“Alright, Threepio,” Luke said, “hand me the briefcase.” The protocol droid did as requested and Luke opened the container as soon as he had it in his hands. After peering inside, the Jedi nodded his head then closed it. Then he spoke again, “I have another job for you now, Threepio.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” the droid said.

If he wasn’t wearing his helmet, Rey bet she would have found the Jedi Master smiling as he went onto say, “You and Leia are going to find a computer somewhere, and, when you do, I need you to open up a way for Artoo on the _Finalizer_ to get into it. The ship’s system that is.”

No one said anything for a moment, then C-3PO asked, “Is that it?”

To which Luke replied, “That’s it.” Then added, “And keep yourself alive.”

Threepio said, “I will sincerely try, Master Luke,” and Luke patted him on the shoulder before turning to Leia.

“Be careful,” he said, his voice cracking. Then, suddenly, he set the briefcase down and took his helmet off. Leia and Rey both followed suit. “I mean it,” he said to his sister. “You’re the one person who’s been with me since the beginning, whether I realized it or not. If something happened to you, Leia, I’d never forgive myself.”

“Shh,” Leia clasped his hand. “Everything is going to be fine.” She smiled. “Trust in the Force. Isn’t that what you always tell me?”

“Probably even into death I will,” Luke said returning the smile but his voice still weak-sounding.

“I’ll count on it,” Leia replied.

The twins stood for a few more moments with their hands held, then Leia turned to Rey and wrapped her arms around her.

“Find him, Rey,” she whispered, tears sliding from the corners of eyes. “Find him and bring him home.”

“I will,” Rey said, barely able to contain her own tears that threatened to fall, so grateful for the presence of this woman that had entered her life.

A moment later, they released each other and everyone’s helmets returned to their heads. Another moment after that, they exited the supply room and turned in opposite directions.

* * *

 

**Hux**

Once on the _Supremacy_ , General Hux wasted no time in making his way to the Supreme Leader’s throne room. He took special delight in how quickly people he encountered in the corridors of the massive ship scurried out of his way as soon as they saw him and his “cargo” coming.

 _And rightfully so_ , he said to himself. Kylo Ren be damned, _he_ was the General of the First Order. Whatever happened after he delivered the wretch to the Supreme Leader, he had that.

His service had to mean something, right?

Even as he thought this, two red-cloaked guards tailed close behind him. _Galaxy_ , he’d be so glad to be rid of them once and for all. He’d be so glad when all this foolishness was over.

And with that he ordered everyone to pick up the pace, arriving at the throne room exactly at the time he specified he would, entering without any sort of fanfare.

“Supreme Leader,” he hailed the official head of the First Order where he sat upon a dais in a high-backed chair dressed in decadent silk robes, cast in an otherworldly light by the eerie red lamps that lit the room. “I present to you Kylo Ren.”

Supreme Leader Snoke rose slowly to his feet, the deformities and scars of his face a sharp and strange contrast to the rest of his otherwise exquisitely attired visage. Fleetingly, and not for the first time, Hux wondered what events and deeds had led to such a misshapen and appalling appearance.

“Bring him to me,” the Supreme Leader said, his voice cutting and severe.

Hux wasted no time in motioning for his accompanying Stormtroopers to lie Ren at their leader’s feet, and then quickly dismissed them from the room.

“He is currently in a drugged state, sir,” Hux found himself needing to explain. “It was the only sure way we could-”

“Thank you, General,” the Supreme Leader interrupted, waving his hand absently at him while his gaze remained focused on Ren. “You may leave us now.”

“E-excuse me, sir,” Hux stuttered. _What?!_ No, he must have heard wrong. He must have.

But he hadn’t.

And the General watched in disbelief as the two guards who had been his constant obnoxious companions approached him like predatory beasts, their staffs raised threateningly.

“The Supreme Leader requested you leave,” one of them said. “Your presence is no longer necessary here.”

Hux spluttered and coughed. Really? _Really?!_ After everything he had done?!

He wanted to protest. He wanted to demand that he get to stay and see everything through until the end. That he had every right to.

But when he hesitated a moment too long in doing anything, the guardsmen took him by his arms and led him out of the room themselves.


	30. Chapter 30

**Finn**

With a pounding heart, Finn stuck his head around the corner of a hallway and with great relief spotted TK-4150 as well as some “Stormtroopers” and R2-D2 staring at him from the other end of the corridor.

“Do you see them?” Ellia asked anxiously from behind him.

Finn nodded.

In a last second decision they had agreed it would be best if their group split up to attract the least amount of attention walking around the halls, and so he had taken with him Ellia, Chewbacca who was for the time being back in handcuffs, as well as a couple of Knights of Ren. No one had questioned them, Ellia’s medic status probably having something to do with it, but it was nerve-wracking for Finn all the same. He’d never be so happy as when they were off that ship again.

“Come on then,” Ellia gently nudged him. “TK-4150 has probably received the code by now.” She was referring to the code needed to enter the bridge, which her friend was supposedly in access to thanks to some connections.

Finn turned and looked at the medic, his heart still thumping a crazy dance in his chest. “You’re sure this is going to work?”

The woman shrugged and shook her head in a helpless, truthful manner. “Nothing is ever certain,” she replied. “We could be walking to our deaths here, _but_ ,” she added with emphasis, “we’ll never know if we don’t try, right? Isn’t the galaxy worth that? Us trying?”

Finn stared at her, her words reverberating deeply within him and causing a feeling of unexpected warmth and hope to flood through him – a feeling similar to one he had felt during a conversation he had had with Chrys on Endor while they were surrounded by her namesake. That knowledge of knowing he was right to believe. In others. 

“It is,” he said, abruptly turning away, unable to meet her penetrating and intense gaze a moment longer.

Suddenly, she stepped around him. “Then let’s go,” she said, and Finn stared dumbfounded at her back for a moment. Eventually, he felt a bump to his side and looked over to see Chewbacca towering over him. “I’m going, I’m going,” he told the Wookiee, a little embarrassed; Chewie just let out a low, almost amused-sounding growl.

As TK-4150 and the others ran over to them, Finn listened as the medic asked her friend, “Have you got the code?”

“Yes,” TK-4150 answered. “Have you got a plan for what we’re going to do once we get inside?” he directed this question at Finn. “Because I tell you, once we’re in there the game is on. Practice is over. People’s lives will be on the line.” And Finn knew he meant more than just their own.

There was a shift in movement and Chrys stepped forward. “I think I may have an idea,” the woman said. “It’s…well…it’s kind of mad, but I think it may be just what needs to be done.”

Everyone looked at the redhead, and Finn couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride because of his friend - this woman who had once been a staunch supporter of the very organization they were hoping to overthrow. A person who, with his help, had made a choice to live her own life rather than the one somebody else wanted to dictate for her.

“What is it?” Finn prompted.

She clutched her blaster between her two hands. “I say we go in,” she said, “with guns blazing.”

* * *

 

**Ellia**

Their weapons weren’t exactly blazing when they entered the bridge to a stunned crowd of officers and technicians a couple of minutes later, but they were raised and ready to fire at the first notice; Ellia had never seen her superiors look more shocked than that moment when a big, tall Wookiee waltzed into their sacred space with a blaster cradled in his arms and cocked to shoot. It was an impressive sight, made only more amazing when Finn announced they were taking over the bridge, and had every member of the First Order lined up like ducks in a row.

“You cannot do this,” one officer shouted, his hands raised above his head where they could be seen while he was forced to sit cross-legged on the floor. “It’s –”

“Impossible?” Finn supplied. “Well, guess what, we just did.” The young man tossed a look over to the astromech R2-D2. “Artoo, can you lock down the bridge? Make it so entrance to…and exit from here…” he looked at the now captive members of the First Order, “is now blocked.”

The droid beeped and rolled over to a nearby computer station. Ellia was tempted to follow the astromech, curious to see how he hijacked the _Finalizer’s_ network, but knew her place was keeping her former superiors and fellow subordinates in submission.

The same First Order officer who originally protested – a commander by the looks of him – said, “Once people figure out what’s going on here, they will come and –”

Finn laughed cutting the man off. “They won’t do anything,” he said. “They won’t be able to.” His voice quickly lost any humor as he added, “We’re taking over the whole ship. Everything. The bridge, the hangar, the communication system, the cannons…Everything! And your people,” he took off his helmet. TK-4111, or Chrys as she was now called, did the same. “Look around, man. Four of us here used to be Stormtroopers. _Your_ very people. And by the time we’re through, there will be more to join us, mark my words.”

The commander’s skin paled slightly as he flicked his eyes from one First Order turncoat to the next – undoubtedly this type of situation wasn’t something they taught him how to handle in military academy, but his whispered words of, “Traitors, the lot of you,” were unmistakable. And even more unmistakable was the incredulous and derisive sound of his voice as he further commented, “You’ve got a lot of faith in this one little droid here,” and he jerked his head in R2-D2’s direction. “Taking over a whole ship, indeed!”

If Ellia hadn’t seen the way the old man back in the hangar – the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker himself – had addressed the droid with the utmost trust and faith in his capabilities, she would’ve questioned such a notion as well, but when Finn said in a scoffing voice, “That’s what you think! Ever hear of something called the Death Star? Remember what happened to it?” she knew for sure such an idea wasn’t completely foolish for whatever reason.

“What about it?” the commander growled.

Finn smirked. “That’s all you need to know,” and he turned his focus away from the belligerent officer; Ellia followed his gaze to the blue and white astromech once again. 

A lot was resting on the little droid. She hoped he could deliver.

* * *

 

**Hux**

General Hux was at a loss for words as he lifted his face from the cold, hard floor of the hallway where he had been so unceremoniously flung moments before, a place he believed was reserved only for groveling underlings, cleaning droids, and the biggest scum of the galaxy: Kylo Ren.

Not him, though. Never him.

So he was embarrassed.

Mortified would probably be more accurate.

He had been thrown from the throne room! Literally!

And Kylo Ren…

Hux scrambled to his feet and slammed a hand on the wall, a snarl of frustration escaping between his lips. Never in his life had he felt more ire for one person. Never more had he wanted to throttle somebody so much their face turned blue and their heart stopped beating. Never…

He pounded the wall again with his fist, a single tear slipping from the corner of his eye.

Some off-duty, low-ranking officers who happened to be passing by just then looked at him with surprised interest, and when Hux turned wrath-filled eyes on them, they quickly averted their gazes and hurried along.

“That’s right!” he shouted after them, his voice echoing down the long corridor. “Get your fool faces out of my sight before I have you reprimanded for insubordination!” He yanked his jacket into place and grumbled, “Worthless idiots.”

But they weren’t half so worthless and idiotic as the wretched Ren. No, nobody could possibly be the blight to existence that he was.

Spinning on his heels in the opposite direction the officers went, Hux began to walk. He didn’t quite know where he was going, but he supposed he’d figure it out when he got there.

* * *

 

**Snoke**

Silence.

Beautiful and utter silence.

No clattering Stormtroopers. No sulky officers. No warnings and threats of imminent danger.

Just silence.

The perfect setting for the most important event in history to take place.

The Supreme Leader rose from his seat, his old and battered body screaming at the movement despite its recent soak in the mountain-top spring, and treaded slowly to the place before him where Kylo Ren lie in a large, black heap on the floor.

Carefully, he rolled the younger man onto his back and gazed unabashedly at the still figure.

 _Perfect_ , he thought, his eyes raking the young Skywalker’s features, absorbing the strong muscles and long frame like a work of art, his gaze lingering on the thin, pale scar on his face. _Just perfect._

Slowly, he knelt on the floor, his knees protesting only a little, and reaching forward grabbed a lock of Ren’s thick, dark hair and rubbed it between his fingers. So smooth and soft. Rich. His hand drifted to the young man’s face. Unlined. Young. _Fierce_ , he whispered to himself as he touched the scar.

_Mine…_

He stood once again and turned to the red figures that quietly adorned his walls like statues.

“Gentlemen,” his voice rang out in the blissful quiet. “Prepare the room.”

* * *

 

**Rey**

Rey didn’t like leaving Leia to traipse around an unknown ship with only C-3PO for company, the memory of their tearful but hopeful parting still fresh in her mind – the woman really had become a mother to her, but the thought of leaving Ben alone was even worse. At least Leia was conscious and walking. Poor Ben…

She shuddered, the image of Ben from the transport shuttle shackled and pale, bruised, surfaced unbidden to her mind’s eye. How much she wished she could have went to him then, held him…

_Loved him._

Yes, love. She loved him. Of course she did. She wouldn’t be navigating her way around the biggest, scariest floating vessel in the galaxy if she didn’t.

Abruptly she stopped and ripped her Stormtrooper helmet off. She was tired of hiding. When she found Ben, it was her face she wanted him to see.

Luke turned around then, noticing her sudden halt. “Are you sure that’s wise?” he asked as she began to remove the rest of the armor.

“Probably not,” she replied, revealing the black body glove worn underneath the white plating. “But I want it to be me Ben sees, not the enemy.”

Luke shrugged but also removed his helmet. Only the helmet, however. Rey discarded everything except for the bodysuit of course, her boots, and the belt. When she was finished, she turned back to the Jedi Master and said, “May I see the briefcase please?”

He handed the item over to her and she swiftly went about pulling what she wanted from inside it, clipping one of the retrieved objects to her belt; the other she held in her hand in place of the blaster.

Giving the briefcase back, Luke then took his turn in taking something from it. While he did so, she took a deep breath and reached out to the Force. She didn’t feel Ben exactly, but she definitely felt something, and drawing on that, she thought she had an idea of where to go next.

With Luke on her heels, they made their way up a couple more floors and down one ridiculously long corridor, hopping into the shadows or some other empty space any time they heard even a whisper of a noise.

One time they entered a hallway without properly checking it first and a couple of Stormtroopers doing patrols caught them. The pair hastily retreated back the way they had come, but weren’t quick enough and found themselves cornered. Apparently taking a page from Threepio’s book, Luke slammed the briefcase into the soldiers’ heads.

“I knew we should have waited on the wardrobe change,” Luke grumbled. “Come on, I saw a refresher just back there. Let’s throw these guys in there and go. We don’t want to be discovered just yet.”

Rey nodded, and between the two of them, dragged the unconscious Stormtroopers to the nearby refresher. When the door was closed, Luke waved his hand in front of it locking them in.

And then they ran.

When they came to a pause in front of a large double-doored entryway a few minutes later with an obvious restricted entrance, she suddenly knew without having to search for the answer that they had found the right place.

“Hmm,” Luke stroked his beard, eying the entryway. “Heavily warded.”

Rey looked at the doors anxiously. “What do we do?” she said. The last thing she needed was a door keeping her away from Ben. 

Luke suddenly grinned, somewhat surprising her. “We’re Force-users, aren’t we?” he said. “Let’s do this right this time.” And indicating for Rey to follow his lead, he raised one of his hands.

Moments later, with their combined effort, the doors slid effortlessly open, and…

Rey felt her stomach drop.

Inside the room, the young woman saw a scene straight from one of the horror holovids she had watched back on Jakku. Only this time what she saw wasn’t all for the sake of entertainment: this was frighteningly real.

And Ben was right in the middle of it.

 

* * *

**Leia**

“Hurry, Threepio,” Leia ordered, removing her helmet so she could better see what was happening on the computer in front of her. “Just open a line in the ship’s network for Artoo to break in through and let’s get going.”

The General and the protocol droid had successfully located an unmanned computer station a short distance from their departure point from Luke and Rey, and while Leia was happy about the discovery, a very real threat of danger still lingered.

“I am trying, Princess,” C-3PO replied, calling her by her old royal moniker again, something she had noticed he had reverted to doing more and more, probably without thinking about it. For the most part, she didn’t mind. The name helped her recall a time long in the past now. 

A life of a young girl that was filled with castles and crowns, beautiful cities, snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, and…

Loving parents.

Leia felt a tingle run down her spine.

Suddenly, the memory of a little black-haired baby nestled against her chest took shape in her thoughts. A baby with skin so soft and eyes so dark. A baby with the most beautiful smile that absolutely melted her heart and that of his father’s. 

“ – the security system on this ship is one of the most complex I have ever encountered,” Threepio’s voice said.

Leia blinked and focused in again on the computer the droid was working away at.

“You can do this, Threepio,” she said, a bit sheepish that she had let her thoughts drift so far away. What if something had happened while she had been daydreaming? "Remember, this is for Ben."

“Yes,” C-3PO agreed. “For Master Ben.”

Several minutes later, however, Leia began to feel a wave of panic overwhelm her. She knew Threepio was trying his best, but it was taking so much longer than she had thought it would. Her thoughts wandered to the others all spread out on this mission with her. Luke, Rey, Finn, Chrys, Chewbacca…

So many good people.

So many people just trying to do the right thing for the galaxy.

 _We can’t fail_ , Leia thought. _We just can’t._

That was when the door to the room clicked open.

And a face Leia had only ever encountered in holographs suddenly appeared before her.

“Well well well,” General Armitage Hux said. “What do we have here?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Please review.


End file.
